WORK AND PENSIONS

Bakery: Safety

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of asthma in the baking industry.

Chris Grayling: HSE provides advice and guidance to raise the awareness among employers and workers in the bakery industry of the risk of occupational asthma due to exposure to flour dust, and the protective measures that can be taken. HSE's website includes user-friendly resource such as case studies and downloadable material for both employers and workers. In addition, HSE has supported the Federation of Bakers in producing its own industry guidance on dust in bakeries, and the supermarket industry in producing standards for controlling flour dust in in-store bakeries. HSE and local authorities have undertaken inspection initiatives in recent years to embed and promote appropriate control practices.
	More generally, HSE leads the Asthma Partnership Board (APB), a stakeholder group that has representatives from Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), industry and medical organisations. The APB encourages organisations to share information and incorporate the key messages on occupational asthma into their own preventative health programmes and initiatives. In addition, HSE works with the Group of Occupational Respiratory Disease Specialists (GORDS) to improve knowledge and awareness among health care professionals of occupational respiratory diseases including asthma, and to standardise its diagnosis and management.

Bakery: Safety

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of cases of asthma caused by contact with flour in the baking industry.

Chris Grayling: Statistics specifically about the number of cases of asthma caused by high exposure to flour within the baking industry are not available. Published statistics do not allow the causative agent for cases of occupational asthma to be identified within a specific occupational group. Statistics for the occupational group “bakers and flour confectioners” are provided and these reflect the role of flour dust as a cause of occupational asthma.
	Based on reports by chest physicians to the Surveillance of Work Related Occupational Respiratory Disease (SWORD) scheme and reports to the Occupational Physicians Reporting Activity (OPRA) scheme, the incidence of occupational asthma among “bakers and flour confectioners” during 2008–10 was estimated to be 19 cases per year. However, these statistics are subject to under-reporting and other statistical data sources suggest that the overall incidence of work-related asthma may be as much as tenfold higher than estimated by SWORD and OPRA.

Cold Weather Payments: Pensioners

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid to pensioners as a result of the increase in cold weather payments in winter 2010-11.

Steve Webb: During the 2010-11 winter season, it is estimated that cold weather payments amounting to £264.4 million was awarded to pensioners. This has been presented in the Autumn 2011 Statement of 29 November 2011, Official Report, columns 799-810.
	Note:
	The figure given is an estimate based on analysis of benefit caseloads from the DWP 5% Quarterly Summary Extract, and a 5% adjusted Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study along with cold weather payments expenditure from the Social Fund White Paper accounts. It is an estimate and not actual payments made to pensioners.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse from freezing local housing allowance rates from April 2012 prior to up-rating by the consumer prices index.

Steve Webb: Projected cash savings from the Budget 2010 decision to switch to CPI indexation for local housing allowance from 2013-14 are presented in the Budget 2011 document.
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_chapter2.pdf
	On 6 December 2011, Official Report, columns 163-65, as part of the uprating statement, I announced to Parliament further details of the implementation of the switch to CPI uprating from April 2013. Updated projections of the fiscal impact of this measure will be published at Budget 2012.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the projected savings in cash and real terms are from the uprating of local housing allowance by the consumer prices index for the remainder of the comprehensive spending review period.

Steve Webb: Projected cash savings from the Budget 2010 decision to switch to CPI indexation for local housing allowance from 2013-14 are presented in the Budget 2011 document.
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_chapter2.pdf
	The Welfare Reform Bill impact assessment presents the savings in constant prices.
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/hb-lha-cpi-uprating-wr2011-ia.pdf
	Updated projections of cash savings will be published at Budget 2012.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the costs to local authorities of the application of the household benefit cap on temporary accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Government published their revised impact assessment of the benefit cap on 23 January 2012. This says that the cap is likely to affect where different family types will be able to live but that it is not possible to quantify any resulting costs because they are based on behavioural changes which are difficult to assess robustly.
	The impact assessment can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/household-benefit-cap-wr2011-ia.pdf

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK have attended a work capability assessment carried out by Atos Origin in the last 12 months.

Chris Grayling: Unfortunately, the information requested is not available in the format requested.
	Information is not held by constituency or by specific areas within a region.
	To be able to produce this we would need to have a complete list of all the postcodes relating to the constituency or the particular area concerned.
	The answer could be provided in the requested format only at disproportionate costs exceeding the disproportionate cost limit of £800 for parliamentary questions.
	The total number of completed Work Capability Assessments (WCA's) carried out between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011 in the North East is 70,458.
	However the DWP regions reduced from 11 to seven from 1 July 2011. The figures for completed assessments in the North East from this date also includes Yorkshire and Humber.
	The total number of WCA's completed nationally in 2011 was 580,688.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Economic Affairs

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on economic development.

Hugo Swire: We regularly meet the First and deputy First Ministers and their colleagues in support of the Executive's efforts to develop the economy and I am accompanying the DETI Minister on a Trade Mission to the Gulf next month. We also work closely together on the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Rebalancing the Economy.

SCOTLAND

Sovereignty

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether it is his intention that the consultation on a referendum on independence for Scotland will involve (a) trade unions, (b) religious groups, (c) Scottish business and (d) wider civic society.

David Mundell: The aim of our consultation is to seek a wide range of views on how we can deliver a legal, fair and decisive referendum.
	The Government believe that decisions which will have such an important impact on Scotland's future should not be taken behind closed doors. Through this consultation we are providing an opportunity for all people with an interest in Scotland's future to make their views heard.

Sovereignty

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on whether it is its intention that an independent Scotland would negotiate a mutual defence treaty with the rest of the UK.

David Mundell: The Scottish Government have not offered formal proposals on their plans for defence if Scotland were to become independent. The Government are confident the people of Scotland will choose to remain part of the UK if a fair, legal and decisive referendum is held.

TREASURY

Defence: Expenditure

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of gross national income is spent on defence; and what he estimates the proportion will be (a) at the conclusion of Tranche 2 of the Armed Forces Redundancy Programme and (b) in May 2015.

Danny Alexander: I intend to answer this question by giving the proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) spent on Defence, rather than gross national income, as this is the international measure used.
	As a member of NATO, we have a target to spend at least 2% of GDP on Defence. The most recent 2010-11 NATO figures show the UK currently spends 2.7% of GDP on Defence.
	It is impossible to state exactly what percentage of GDP or gross national income will be spent in future years as the total figure includes the costs of operations, pensions and payments made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. However, I expect the percentage to remain above the 2% NATO target.

Revenue and Customs

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects HM Revenue and Customs to meet its target of dealing with child benefit claims within 23 days.

David Gauke: holding answer 12 December 2011
	Current forecasts indicate that while HMRC expect improvements in the current financial year, they do not expect to achieve this target by the end of the financial year. One of the reasons for this is that HMRC did not fully understand the age profile of their work. Processing some of the older work had an adverse impact on the timeliness target. However, this work will put them in a much stronger position during 2012/2013 when they expect to pay child benefit claims within an average of 23 days.

Tax Allowances: Offshore Trusts

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the additional revenue to the Exchequer that would be raised by ending the tax exemption for land held in offshore trusts; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: There is no tax exemption for land held in offshore trusts, and therefore no such estimate has been made.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to ask the National Audit Office to monitor and report on the effectiveness of Government Departments' participation in the Big Society initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	There are no plans to ask the National Audit Office to monitor and report on the effectiveness of Government Departments' participation in the Big Society initiative.

Unemployment

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a system for collecting data on the numbers of people who have experienced unemployment during set periods of time along the lines of the data collected by the US current population survey.

Chloe Smith: The independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for producing official economic statistics for the UK. The independent Statistics Authority has powers to produce statistics, provide statistical services and promote statistical research. It provides the top level of governance for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), replacing the oversight role previously performed by HM Treasury Ministers.
	HM Treasury, along with other users of statistics, have the opportunity to input into the work priorities of the ONS by contributing to consultations and users groups.
	The ONS publishes detailed statistics on unemployment by duration. The latest release can be found at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/january-2012/table-unem01.xls

Working Tax Credit

Ann Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the conclusion contained in his Department's comprehensive spending review 2010 on the level of saving to the Exchequer resulting from an increase in hours worked for couples to qualify to claim the working tax credit, how the saving figure was calculated; and what his Department's assumption was of how many couples would (a) receive a reduced level of working tax credit due to increasing their working hours and (b) cease to receive working tax credit due to falling under the increased hours threshold.

David Gauke: The methodology used to calculate savings to the Exchequer from changes to tax credits at spending review 2010 can be found in the policy costings document: ‘Spending Review 2010 policy costings’. This document is available at:
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_policycostings.pdf
	The increase in the hours rules for couples from 16 hours to 24 hours is part of a range of reforms to the tax credits system announced at the spending review.
	Estimating the impact of an individual measure does not give a clear indication of the full impact on an individual household.
	The Government published estimates of the distributional impact of the whole package of announced tax and benefit measures which can be found at:
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_annexb.pdf

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Charities: Shops

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the contribution of charity shops to the local community in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 19 January 2012
	No assessment has been made. Charity shops deliver a public benefit by raising funds for worthy causes. Mary Portas considered charity shops in her independent report on the future of the high street she presented to Government in December last year. The Government will respond to the Report in the spring.

Council Tax Benefits

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with interested parties on proposals to transfer responsibility for council tax benefit to local authorities.

Bob Neill: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from the local government sector to discuss a range of matters.

Council Tax: Rates and Rating

Nick Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if he will publish a table setting out the distribution between council tax bands A to H of (a) newly constructed properties added to the council tax register and (b) existing properties subject to a reassessment in (i) England and Wales and (ii) each housing authority in 2010-11 and the respective contribution of each to new homes bonus payments; [R]
	(2)  if he will publish a table setting out the distribution between council tax bands A to H of (a) the existing housing stock and (b) new additions to the housing stock in 2010-11 as submitted for the purpose of local authority New Homes Bonus claims in (i) England and Wales and (ii) each housing authority. [R]

Grant Shapps: The information requested has been placed in the Library of the House.
	This Department does not hold information on re-assessments; but it does invite representations from local authorities in response to provisional allocations, and these representations could include properties which have been re-assessed.
	Housing and local government finance for Wales is a devolved matter.
	I would note that these figures illustrate that two-thirds of the 158,535 additional homes that the New Homes Bonus has rewarded were in bands A to C, reflecting how it has rewarded the construction of lower-cost homes.

Departmental Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidelines his Department issues to its non-departmental public bodies on the employment of unpaid interns.

Bob Neill: As I informed the hon. Member in my answer to her question of 21 November 2011, Official Report, columns 58-59W, neither my Department nor the public bodies that we are responsible for, has had any unpaid or expenses-only internships in the last 12 months (in answering that question, I distinguished internships from work shadowing and volunteering).
	In that context, my Department has not issued specific advice on interns, but we would expect our public bodies to have regard to the Government's Social Mobility Strategy published in April 2011 (page 56 specifically addresses the issue of payment to interns).

Social Rented Housing

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to amend social housing allocation policy to classify under-occupying tenants as being in housing need from April 2013.

Grant Shapps: We are making it easier for landlords to address under-occupation by increasing mobility, through changes to the allocation rules contained in the Localism Act 2011 and the introduction of a national home swap scheme, HomeSwap Direct.
	On 5 January we published for consultation new statutory social housing allocations guidance for local authorities advising them of the importance of giving existing social tenants who are under-occupying their accommodation appropriate priority for a transfer.
	In addition, the Department has allocated £13 million over the next four years to help local authorities support under-occupying social tenants who wish to downsize, as well as funding an action team within the Chartered Institute of Housing to work with all social landlords to help them promote moves.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to measure progress on the implementation of policies supporting the Big Society initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: The Government have always been clear that the big society is not an initiative with specific metrics but captured the Government's desire to enable communities to come together in the common good, encourage greater personal responsibility and social action, as well as reforming public services to give greater choice and control to users. The Department is primarily concerned with creating the conditions for communities to take greater control of where they live.
	We are currently working to implement the provisions in the Localism Act, including the Community Right to Bid, Community Right to Challenge, Community Right to Build and Neighbourhood Planning. There are currently 125 frontrunner neighbourhoods developing plans at the local level across England. We have recently invited tenders to provide support for the Community Rights to Bid, Build and Challenge and will monitor the number of groups assisted as part of the performance management of the contract.
	I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 6 December 2011, Official Report, column 247-48W, on the steps we are taking to support the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.

EDUCATION

Academies

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consultation is required to ensure a change to academy status is voluntary.

Nick Gibb: There is a statutory requirement for all schools becoming academies under the Academies Act 2010 to carry out a consultation. The school's governing body must consult such persons as they think appropriate.

Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the Working Time Directive on (a) family life and (b) children's subjective well-being;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of flexible working on (a) family life and (b) children's subjective well-being.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The organisation of working time is only one aspect of a broader suite of social and economic policy measures which impact on family life and children's well-being and work. The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills has published a series of Work-Life balance surveys which looks at issues relating to work-life balance including working hours, the provision and take-up of flexible working arrangements, and employee attitudes to work-life balance issues. The latest published survey is available on the BIS website and the fourth work life balance will be published later this year.
	The Department has also commissioned and published five research reports on the effects of the working time directive, and a further two occasional papers on issues concerning the interaction between family structure and fathers working hours on work-life balance issues.

Children: Disability

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of 16 to 24 year-olds not in education, training or employment are (a) disabled and (b) on the autism spectrum.

John Hayes: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Table 1 shows the number and proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds(1) not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the third quarter of 2011 and who reported a Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and or work-limiting disability. Figures relating to the autism spectrum are not available.
	
		
			 Table 1: Disability status of 16 to 24-year-olds NEET in England, Quarter 3 2011 
			  Number of 16 to 24-year- olds NEET Percentage share  of 16 to  24 -year- olds NEET 95% confidence interval 
			 DDA or work-limiting disabled 222,000 19.1 +/- 2.0 pp 
			 Not disabled 941,000 80.9 +/- 2.0 pp 
			 Total 1,163,000 100.0  
			 Notes: 1. Age refers to academic age, which is defined as the age of the respondent at the preceding 31 August. 2. Estimates of the number NEET are rounded to the nearest thousand and may not sum to totals due to rounding. 3. All estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey; Quarter 3 2011. 
		
	
	Please note that these estimates are subject to sampling variability and should therefore be viewed in conjunction with their Confidence Intervals(2) ( )(CIs), which indicate how accurate an estimate is. For example, a CI of +/-5 percentage points (pp) means that the true value is between 5pp above the estimate and 5pp below the estimate.
	Quarterly estimates of the number of people aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) derived from the Labour Force Survey are published by the Department for Education. The latest publication can be found online at
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/a00199328/dfe-neet-statistics-quarterly-3-2011
	(1) Age used is respondents academic age, which is defined as their age at the preceding 31 August.
	(2) Those given are 95% confidence intervals.

Curriculum

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the average number of hours of teaching time per week for pupils in (a) academies and (b) other maintained schools.

Nick Gibb: We do not collect information on the average number of hours of teaching per week for pupils in academies or maintained schools. However, an evaluation of the Academies programme in 2008 by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 80% of academies were providing extended programmes of instruction and support for pupils by extending the number of teaching hours in the week. Academies have always had the freedom to vary the length of their school day and many continue to use this freedom to provide additional teaching time. We believe that this helps to raise standards particularly for those children from the poorest backgrounds and therefore in September 2011 this freedom was extended to maintained schools.

Departmental ICT

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many requests have been made to his Department's IT department from (a) officials and (b) special advisers working within his Department for information about the process of erasing data from (i) computer hard drives and (ii) all other forms of storage devices; and whether any such requests have received authorisation in each of the last 12 months.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 17 January 2012
	No requests have been made to the Department's IT service desk for information about the process for cleansing data from computer hard drives or other devices. No requests have been authorised. However the Department is moving to an IT infrastructure that no longer relies on individual storage devices on desks. As part of the roll-out of this system, security questions have been .raised about the destruction of data on the old PC hard drives. The decision has been taken to move data held on individual hard drives into the new system or to create an archived record before secure disposal of obsolete equipment.

Departmental Official Visits

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether it is his policy to inform the relevant local education authority in advance of an official of his Department visiting a school.

Nick Gibb: We are keen to work in partnership with local authorities when officials from the Department visit schools and make every effort to notify the appropriate local authority in advance of a visit.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 15 December 2011 concerning a school in his constituency.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 19 January 2012
	The Under-Secretary of State for Education, my noble Friend, Lord Hill of Oareford, replied to the hon. Member on 18 January 2012.

Pupils: Assessments

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reason the calculation in the Raise Online performance tool Table 4.1.25 is based on the total number of pupils in the cohort for English and mathematics but not on the number of pupils entered for sciences; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 24 January 2012
	The RAISE online report in question provides an analysis of a school's performance in the English baccalaureate. In 2010, only 15.6% of pupils achieved grades A*-C in the GCSEs which comprise the English baccalaureate, which was largely because of low entry levels for some of the subjects. This report therefore shows how a school performed in the separate subject areas so that a school's strengths and weakness can be understood.
	As we expect the vast majority of pupils to be entered for English and maths GCSEs, the proportion of pupils achieving grades A*-C is calculated against the whole cohort of pupils at the end of key stage 4.
	However, the entry patterns for science, humanities and languages are different, with less than 50% of the cohort entering some of these subjects. The report for these subjects is therefore based upon the number of pupils entered for the subject, rather than the whole cohort.

School Funding Reform

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department expects to respond to its consultation on School Funding Reform.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education published the consultation on school funding reform in July 2011, and it closed in October. We received over 1,600 responses to the consultation and published a summary of these in December. We are considering the responses and will make further announcements in the spring.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department provided to (a) The Art Room, (b) the National Portrait Gallery, (c) Mountain Rescue England, (d) the English Schools Swimming Association, (e) the Scout Association and (f) Missing Links UK in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: The Department has not provided funding with any of these organisations in financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Drinks

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on (a) wine, (b) other alcoholic refreshments and (c) bottled water since May 2010.

John Penrose: This Department's accounting system does not hold breakdowns of category spend by wine or other alcoholic refreshments specifically, and to collate this information would exceed the disproportionate cost limit.
	In September 2008, the Department installed a system to filter and bottle tap water on site. The Department now no longer purchases bottled water.

Football: Clubs

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent progress his Department has made on the reform of football governance to support the cooperative ownership of football clubs by supporters.

Hugh Robertson: The Government's response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee football governance inquiry sets out a number of recommendations for the football authorities to consider around increasing supporter representation and ownership at football clubs. It is for the football authorities to determine the best way of achieving the right changes in the game, and so we look forward to their response to this at the end of February.

Football: Clubs

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what representations he has received from Supporters Direct concerning a proposed football club licensing system; and if he will make a statement on those proposals.

Hugh Robertson: Our response to the Select Committee Report into football governance calls for the introduction of a new club licensing system that would include conditions to help supporters have a greater say in how their clubs are run. It is for the football authorities to respond to this, and to set out the content of that licence. However, am aware of the proposals that Supporters Direct have in this area, and I would therefore encourage the football authorities to engage with them as part of this process.

Supporters Direct

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of Supporters Direct since May 2010.

Hugh Robertson: I met the previous chief executive of Supporters Direct in the spring. I am also kept informed through my officials who meet regularly with representatives of Supporters Direct, including the chief executive, on key supporter issues.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Legal Representation

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many (a) inquiries and (b) cases were dealt with by not-for-profit organisations funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission outside the civil legal aid scheme in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10, (iii) 2010-11 and (iv) 2011-12 to date; and what estimate has been made of the number of active cases being considered by these organisations.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 17 January 2012
	The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is an arm's length body; the following is the information it has provided in response to this question:
	The EHRC does not hold the information requested for (i) 2008-09 or (ii) 2009-10.
	The EHRC holds information for (b) cases for (iii) 2010-11, and holds information for (a) inquiries and (b) cases for (iv) 2011-12; this information is as follows:
	(iii) (b) Cases dealt with in 2010-11: 4,002(1)
	(iv) (b) Cases dealt with during six month period April 2011 to September 2011 (inclusive): 2,627
	The above is made up of:
	Cases commenced in this period: 1,523
	Cases commenced in prior years; work is ongoing: 1,104.
	(iv) (a) Inquiries dealt with during six month period April 2011 to September 2011 (inclusive): 5,577
	Based on quarterly reports received from these organisations, as at 30 September 2011 these organisations had 1,237 discrimination-related cases active(2).
	(1) The EHRC does not hold information on whether these cases commenced in 2010-11 or in prior years.
	(2) An ‘active’ case means that the organisation has begun work on the case; the case may be at the stage of informal action.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Regulation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to reduce the burden of regulation on the farming industry; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: In my written statement of 3 November 2011, Official Report, columns 40-41WS, I announced the publication of the interim response to the Independent Farm Regulation Task Force. I stated that the Government's final response will be published in early in 2012. This is still my intention.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of landowners in receipt of subsidy payments under the (a) Single Payment Scheme and (b) Rural Development Programme whose land is held in an offshore trust; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: No estimate has been made. Payments under the single payment scheme and rural development programme depend on the farmer having land at his or her disposal, not on the nature of the ownership. The Rural Payments Agency, therefore, does not hold information about whether land is held in an offshore trust.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will require the Rural Payments Agency to ensure landowners in receipt of subsidies under the Single Payment Scheme and the Rural Development Programme for England have registered their land with the Land Registry; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: No. The Rural Payments Agency has no power under the EU scheme rules to make payments under either the single payment scheme or rural development programme conditional on landowners registering their land with the Land Registry.

Animal Health and Welfare Board for England

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition her Department uses for (a) animal health and (b) animal welfare in the context of the Animal Health and Welfare Board.

James Paice: The terms of reference of the Animal Health and Welfare Board for England defines animal health and welfare within the scope of its responsibilities as relating to all kept animals, with the exception of circus and zoo animals where the scope relates to animal disease prevention matters only. Further detail can be found on DEFRA's website.

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the recent ruling of the Austrian Constitutional Court dismissing an application brought by Circus Krone to challenge Austria's ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, what steps her Department will take to introduce a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses.

James Paice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Lothian (Fiona O'Donnell) on 17 January 2012, Official Report, column 734W.

British Waterways: Canal and River Trust

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the functions and assets of British Waterways in England and Wales to be transferred to the Canal and River Trust.

Richard Benyon: The length of the funding negotiations and parliamentary processes under the Public Bodies Act have put pressure on the launch date for the new charity. I will confirm shortly the date on which the new charity, subject to parliamentary consent, will be vested.

Common Agricultural Policy

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish her objectives for the current round of discussions on common agricultural policy reform; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The common agricultural policy (CAP) negotiations are at an early stage. The Commission's proposals were released on 12 October 2011 and are currently being considered by member states in the Agriculture Council, as well as by the European Parliament for the first time, under co-decision.
	The UK Government want to see ambitious reform of the CAP. We will continue to argue for a very substantial cut to the CAP budget, focused on Pillar 1. The CAP that remains should provide better value and prepare for a future without income support. It should be used to encourage improved productivity and innovation to increase the competitiveness of the agriculture sector and a higher proportion of CAP funds should be used for the cost-effective delivery of public goods. We will also argue for a less complex CAP, with reduced burdens for administrators and beneficiaries.

Dangerous Dogs

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to take steps to control the prevalence of dangerous dogs.

James Paice: The Government are finalizing a package of measures to tackle irresponsible dog ownership and will be announcing these soon.

Departmental Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidelines her Department issues to its non-departmental public bodies on the employment of unpaid interns.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA issued guidance to its non-departmental public bodies in July 2011 which makes clear that the employment of unpaid interns is not permitted.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding her Department allocated to (a) Centrepoint, (b) Crisis, (c) Skill Force and (d) Shelter in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: In the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 to date, DEFRA has not funded Centrepoint, Crisis, Skill Force or Shelter.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2012, Official Report, column 376W, on the third sector, how much direct funding of £250,000 or more her Department provided to each civil society organisation it funded in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how much it has allocated to each organisation in 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Direct funding of £250,000 or more, provided or allocated by DEFRA to civil society organisations in the years specified is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2010-11  
			 Keep Britain Tidy 4.75 
			 Action with Communities in Rural England 3.5 
			   
			 2011-12  
			 Keep Britain Tidy 4.0 
			 Action with Communities in Rural England 3.2 
			   
			 2012-13 (allocated)  
			 Keep Britain Tidy 3.5 
			 Action with Communities in Rural England 2.8

HEALTH

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the national clinical director for diabetes to make a statement on the effect on diabetes care and provision of the proposed reforms to the NHS.

Paul Burstow: The National Audit Office is due to publish its report on “The management of adult diabetes services in the NHS” this summer. Dr Rowan Hillson, the national clinical director (NCD) for diabetes, will consider the report before making recommendations to Ministers on the next steps in providing consistent, quality healthcare for people with diabetes.
	In the meantime, the Department continues to encourage current commissioners to use the national diabetes information service tools to ensure that all their. patients are receiving the care processes and outcomes required by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Quality Standard for diabetes, and to take action if this is not so.

Diabetes: Orthopaedics

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many amputations arising from diabetes-related complications have taken place in Leicester City Primary Care Trust since January 2011; and how many such amputations were preventable.

Paul Burstow: The number of finished consultant episodes(1) with a primary diagnosis(2) of diabetes and a primary or secondary procedure(3) of amputation(4), performed by Leicester City primary care trust since January 2011 is 22 for the months January 2011 to September 2011. Data from April 2011 to September 2011 are provisional data(5) and subject to change.
	Data on preventable amputation is not available.
	(1) A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.
	(2) The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.
	ICD-10 codes used:
	E10—Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
	E11—Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
	E12—Malnutrition-related diabetes mellitus
	E13—Other specified diabetes mellitus
	E14—Unspecified diabetes Mellitus
	(3) The number of episodes where this diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a HES record. Each episode is only counted once, even if the diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.
	OPCS codes used:
	X07—Amputation of arm
	X08—Amputation of hand
	X09—Amputation of leg
	X10—Amputation of foot
	X11—Amputation of toe
	X121—Re-amputation at higher level
	(4) The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and four prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. Note that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary. procedure. For example, patients under-going a ‘cataract operation’ would tend to have at least two procedures—removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one—counted in a single episode.
	(5) The data are provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, i.e. November from the (month 9) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected.

First Aid: Education

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on bringing forward legislative proposals to require the teaching of emergency life support skills in schools.

Anne Milton: The teaching of emergency life skills will be considered as part of the Department for Education's current review of Personal Social Health and Economic Education (PSHE).
	I have ongoing discussions with Ministers and officials about PSHE.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money the NHS has received from each EU member state for treatment of their nationals in the NHS in each of the last three years.

Anne Milton: The following table shows payments made to the United Kingdom Government by European economic area (EEA) countries for treatment provided to their citizens in the UK as either state pensioners, temporary visitors using the European Health Insurance Card, workers posted to the UK by an employer based in the debtor country and dependents of these categories.
	
		
			 EEA medical costs: Claim payments 
			 Payments to UK (£) 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Austria 30,000 48,000 145,000 
			 Belgium 2,820,000 1,743,000 931,000 
			 Bulgaria 0 0 0 
			 Cyprus 0 0 0 
			 Czech Republic 2,000 78,000 35,000 
			 Denmark (Waiver) 0 0 0 
			 Estonia (Waiver) 0 0 0 
			 Finland (Waiver) 0 2,000 0 
			 France 5,224,000 6,545,000 1,768,000 
			 Germany 94,000 546,000 2,916,000 
			 Greece 864,000 246,000 269,000 
			 Hungary (Waiver) 8,000 38,000 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Iceland 0 25,000 19,000 
			 Ireland 19,560,000 22,723,000 20,229,000 
			 Italy 0 672,000 19,517,000 
			 Latvia 0 0 11,000 
			 Liechtenstein 0 0 0 
			 Lithuania 0 0 5,000 
			 Luxembourg 0 0 10,000 
			 Malta (Waiver) 0 0 0 
			 Netherlands 0 6,581,000 0 
			 Norway (Waiver) 0 0 0 
			 Poland 0 0 374,000 
			 Portugal 18,000 152,000 39,000 
			 Romania 0 0 0 
			 Slovakia 0 0 22,000 
			 Slovenia 6,000 61,000 270,000 
			 Spain 4,226,000 158,000 1,631,000 
			 Sweden 280,000 865,000 3,334,000 
			 Switzerland 0 38,000 211,000 
			 Total payments 33,100,000 40,500,000 51,700,000

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has paid to each EU member state for the health treatment of UK citizens in each of the last three years.

Anne Milton: The following table shows payments made by the United Kingdom Government to European economic area (EEA) countries for treatment provided to UK citizens as either state pensioners, temporary visitors using the European Health Insurance Card, workers posted to that country, by a UK based employer and dependents of these categories.
	Claims are submitted in arrears, sometimes several years in arrears. Payments made in any one year will therefore relate to claims for previous years, and do not reflect the value of claims made or received in that year. Payment totals may vary significantly due to variations in the timing of payments made or received for different countries and different claims.
	
		
			 EEA medical costs 
			 £ 
			  Payments to member states 
			 Claim payments 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Austria 6,190,000 4,934,000 1,789,000 
			 Belgium 6,928,000 6,872,000 220,000 
			 Bulgaria 25,000 46,000 5,000 
			 Cyprus 14,366,000 842,000 5,976,000 
			 Czech Republic 318,000 451,000 428,000 
			 Denmark (waiver) 0 0 0 
			 Estonia (waiver) 0 0 0 
			 Finland (waiver) 22,000 23,000 17,000 
			 France 166,990,000 203,620,000 65,213,000 
			 Germany 33,322,000 15,612,000 7,539,000 
			 Greece 6,976,000 878,000 2,281,000 
			 Hungary (waiver) 0 0 0 
			 Iceland 205,000 0 99,000 
		
	
	
		
			 Ireland 86,490,000 315,868,000 256,754,000 
			 Italy 0 9,244,000 1,848,000 
			 Latvia 19,000 16,000 12,000 
			 Liechtenstein 7,000 1,000 0 
			 Lithuania 22,000 21,000 1,000 
			 Luxembourg 0 10,000 62,000 
			 Malta (waiver) 0 0 0 
			 Netherlands 0 20,686,000 0 
			 Norway (waiver) 0 51,000 0 
			 Poland 1,096,000 2,525,000 1,579,000 
			 Portugal 202,000 1,832,000 1,859,000 
			 Romania 2,000 5,000 3,000 
			 Slovakia 389,000 567,000 410,000 
			 Slovenia 210,000 161,000 130,000 
			 Spain 118,361,000 228,387,000 100,710,000 
			 Sweden 3,302,000 1,333,000 1,415,000 
			 Switzerland 5,898,000 3,762,000 3,298,000 
			 Total payments 451,300,000 817,700,000 451,600,000

Land: Contamination

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the effect of the new principles in his Department's proposed contaminated land statutory guidance on individual sites has been tested in a pilot; and whether any land assessed as presenting an unacceptable risk to human health is likely to be reclassified as safe under his Department's proposals.

Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as Minister for Natural Environment and Fisheries.
	The new principles in the proposed contaminated land statutory guidance have not been tested in a pilot. However, the new guidance was developed in partnership with a broad range of experts and interested stakeholders; it reflects various issues that have come to light over the 10 years the regime has been in place that needed clarification. The revised guidance has been subjected to full public consultation. The existing statutory guidance continues to apply until the new statutory guidance has been issued.
	The new statutory guidance would not require local authorities to re-determine the status of any sites. However, it would make it possible for local authorities to revisit a determination if new information comes to light that changed the basis on which the land was determined as contaminated land.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 6 October 2011 regarding Saheed Onikeku.

Simon Burns: A reply was issued to the right hon. Member on 31 October 2011.

Muscular Dystrophy

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in each (a) local authority area and (b) age group in each of the last five years.

Paul Burstow: Information on the number of people diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is not collected centrally.

Neurology

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with neurological conditions receive health and social care.

Paul Burstow: The proposed reforms to commissioning, the greater focus on improving quality and joining services up more effectively, alongside a stronger collective voice for patients and the public will ensure the delivery of better, more seamless, services and improve patient and public experience.
	Commissioning in the past has been too remote, from the patients it intends to serve. Clinical commissioning groups will ensure that commissioning decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local health care needs.
	Our commissioning reforms also recognise the needs of patients for specialised services, with the NHS Commissioning Board, in future, commissioning such services. Additionally, there will be flexibility for commissioning groups to decide how to commission other low-volume services, for example, through collaboration.
	Quality standards, developed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, will be at the heart of the system, providing authoritative statements of high quality care. They will have real traction within the system, linking with tariffs that will see providers paid more for quality care.

Neurology

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the findings of the National Audit Office report on services for people with neurological conditions published on 16 December 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the National Audit Office report on services for people with neurological conditions, how the Government's forthcoming long-term conditions strategy will address issues surrounding neurological services monitoring and quality.

Paul Burstow: We are considering the National Audit Office report on services for people with neurological conditions, and will be responding in due course.

NHS Foundation Trusts: Insurance

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of NHS foundation trusts which have left the NHS Litigation Authority and sought commercial insurance coverage.

Simon Burns: No national health service foundation trusts have provided the NHS litigation authority with notice to leave any of the NHS indemnity schemes.
	NHS foundation trusts are free to purchase commercial insurance, and already do for a range of risks, including cover for motor vehicles and income generation activities.

NHS Litigation Authority: Finance

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that NHS foundation trusts' contributions to the NHS Litigation Authority are proportional to their claims histories and risk management strategies.

Simon Burns: The NHS Litigation Authority already takes account of members' claims histories and risk management strategies when assessing contributions.

NHS Litigation Authority: Finance

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the costs of membership are of the NHS Litigation Authority for each NHS trust and foundation trust.

Simon Burns: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) publishes details of members’ contributions in NHSLA Factsheet 5 under the publication section of its website at:
	www.nhsla.com/Publications/

NHS: Compensation

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has paid in compensation to NHS patients for operations and treatments in non-NHS hospitals and treatment centres in each of the last three years.

Simon Burns: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			 Amount paid in compensation to national health service patients for treatment in non-NHS hospitals and treatment centres 
			  Total paid (£) 
			 2008-09 1,313,166 
			 2009-10 2,576,139 
			 2010-11 3,004,493 
			 Total 6,893,799 
			 Source: NHS Litigation Authority

NHS: Compensation

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money the NHS has recovered from private hospitals and treatment centres as a result of the NHS having to pay compensation to patients following NHS treatment in those hospitals and treatment centres in each of the last three years.

Simon Burns: Information on how much money has been recovered from private hospitals as a result of the national health service paying compensation for NHS treatment is not collected centrally.
	Where the NHS has paid compensation, the costs of such payments are factored into the contributions paid by primary, care trusts (PCTs) to the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA). Figures for PCT contributions can be found in NHSLA Factsheet 5 under the publication section of the NHSLA website at:
	www.nhsla.com/Publications/
	PCTs have local arrangements in place to recover costs from private health care providers.

NHS: Negligence

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) claims and (b) successful claims for clinical negligence have been brought against each NHS trust and foundation trust in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) publishes details of claims received by members in NHSLA Factsheet 5 under the publication section of its website at:
	www.nhsla.com/Publications/
	Information about successful claims for clinical negligence has been placed in the Library in the document “Clinical negligence claims settled by the NHS Litigation Authority during 2010-11 with damages”.

Palliative Care: Finance

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to respond to the report of the palliative care funding review.

Paul Burstow: The independent palliative care funding review reported in July 2011. We have welcomed the review's final report, which has made an excellent start in looking at this complex and challenging issue. It has come up with a range of significant proposals, which we now need to consider in detail.
	One of the review's key recommendations was that a number of pilots be set up to collect data and refine its proposals due to the lack of good quality data currently available. We will be setting up pilots from. April 2012. The pilots will run for two years, with the aim of having a new funding system for palliative care in place by 2015, a year sooner than the review proposed. We will be able to give a full response to the review's recommendations once the work of the pilots is concluded and the evidence they obtain scrutinised.

Speech Therapy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the provision of speech and language therapy for children.

Anne Milton: The Government recognise the importance of ensuring that there is effective support for children with speech, language and communication difficulties. This is why at both ministerial and senior official level there are regular meetings, also involving key external partners, to discuss how these services can play a full contribution in improving patient care, experience and outcomes more widely.

Surgery: Hertfordshire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been refused routine operations until they lost weight in Hertfordshire in the last year.

Simon Burns: The information requested is not held by the Department.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to measure progress on the implementation of policies supporting the big society initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Department encourages and supports the big society agenda. In health care, public health and social care, the big society vision has driven our work to help people take control over their lives, the services they use and communities they live in.
	We are embedding this new approach throughout our proposed health and social care reforms. The vision set out for the national health service, social care and public health puts patients, service users and carers at the heart of services they use and in control of what they access—“no decision about me without me”. This is well aligned with a big society approach.
	Over the coming years the Department will continue to have a strategic role in the design of the new health and care system. It will be a key shaper and architect and as such will ensure that our strategies and policies keep people at the forefront of all that we do, working together with our partners and stakeholders to achieve better experiences for all those who interact with the health and care system and help to grow the big society.

Tuberculosis

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to monitor the recent outbreak of drug-resistant tuberculosis in India, Italy and Iran and its effect on the UK.

Anne Milton: The Department is aware of the recent outbreak of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in India and is monitoring the situation. The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised that for the time being these cases should be considered extensively drug-resistant (XDR) rather than totally drug-resistant, as it is not clear that they are resistant to all drugs available to treat TB. The WHO is convening an expert meeting in March 2012 to consider the issues in detail and any wider implications.
	In this country, early detection of drug-resistant TB cases is achieved through laboratory testing, tracing and screening of contacts of drug-resistant cases and epidemiological surveillance. Due to the complexity of managing XDR-TB, such patients should be referred to TB specialists with experience in treating drug-resistant TB through the national multi-drug resistant service.
	This incident highlights the need to sustain and strengthen existing measures for TB control on an international level by early detection and diagnosis; effective and complete treatment; and contact-tracing. The United Kingdom continues to contribute to and support activities in global TB control.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bell Pottinger Group

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what official meetings he has had with third parties at the recommendation of, or with the assistance of, Bell Pottinger Group since May 2010.

David Lidington: None.

China: Animal Welfare

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the Chinese Government on (a) reports of cruelty in fur farms and (b) improving the standard of animal welfare in that country.

Jeremy Browne: I have not raised the standards of animal welfare in fur farms in China with the Chinese Government. However the Government are supportive of work to raise standards of animal welfare at home and overseas. Where appropriate, we support co-ordinated action to promote standards internationally. The UK has been fully supportive of an EU-wide ban on the import, export and sale of domestic cat and dog fur and products containing such fur. It has taken the action required to enforce this ban.
	We also welcome the work that non-governmental organisations such as Animals Asia Foundation, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals undertake with the Chinese authorities to improve standards of animal welfare in China.

EU Countries: Detainees

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK citizens are currently in detention awaiting trial in (a) EU countries other than the UK and (b) non-EU countries; and how many in each case have been detained for over six months without being brought to trial.

Alistair Burt: As of September 2011 we were aware of 780 British nationals detained in EU countries other than the UFC and a further 1797 British nationals in detention in non-EU countries. These figures include individuals detained at all stages of the legal process. We are unable to estimate how many of these individuals are currently awaiting trial or how many have been detained for over six months without being brought to trial. Estimating these figures would prove difficult and incur disproportionate cost.
	The primary role of consular staff is one of welfare. We aim to contact British nationals, depending on local circumstances, within 24 hours of being told of their arrest or detention, and provide all prisoners with an informative ‘Prisoner Pack’, which includes basic information about the local legal system and the non-governmental organisation Fair Trials International (FTI). We will consider approaching the local authorities if a British national is not treated in line with internationally-accepted standards, including if their trial is unreasonably delayed compared to local cases.

Intercountry Adoption

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the number of intercountry adoptions in the last 10 years.

Tim Loughton: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	Intercountry adoptions have declined since the mid 2000s. The following table sets out the approximate number of applications received by my Department during the past 10 years. Not all applications result in adoptions and some applications can be for more than one child. Data on the number of adoptions are only available for 2010 and 2011.
	
		
			  Number of applications (1) Number of adoptions (1) 
			 2002 285 n/a 
			 2003 301 n/a 
			 2004 333 n/a 
			 2005- 369 n/a 
			 2006 363 n/a 
			 2007 356 n/a 
			 2008 225 n/a 
			 2009 200 n/a 
			 2010 146 174 
			 2011 146 154 
			    
			 (1) The data exclude applications/adoptions by prospective adopters resident in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man who apply to adopt from countries that have implemented the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, and, since 2010, all applications/adoptions from Scotland.

Iran

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports that Iran may close the Strait of Hormuz; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: As the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said on 5 January:
	“It is in the interests of all nations that the arteries of global trade are kept free, opening and running. Disruption to the flow of oil through Strait of Hormuz would threaten regional and global economic growth. Any attempt by Iran to do this would be illegal and unsuccessful.”
	Given that 95% of Iran's oil exports transit the Strait of Hormuz, it is against Iran's own interests to seek to close the Strait.
	Iran's threats will not distract our attention from the real issue, which is the nature of its nuclear programme. We call on Iran to respond constructively to the international community's concerns and engage seriously with the UK, United States of America, France, Germany, Russia and China—the so-called E3+3.

Iran: Oil and Gas

Michael Ellis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has a contingency plan to deal with a blockade of oil and gas shipments in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.

Alistair Burt: As the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said on 5 January:
	“It is in the interests of all nations that the arteries of global trade are kept free, opening and running. Disruption to the flow of oil through Strait of Hormuz would threaten regional and global economic growth. Any attempt by Iran to do this would be illegal and unsuccessful.”
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office works closely with other Government Departments and international partners on contingency arrangements for threats posed by Iran to UK interests.

Israel: Prisoners

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to the Israeli government calling on them to end the practice of detaining children in solitary confinement.

Alistair Burt: We regularly discuss the treatment of prisoners with the Israeli authorities and have raised concerns over reports of solitary confinement. We remain concerned about the treatment of Palestinian children under the Israeli military justice system.
	I discussed the treatment of prisoners most recently with Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon on 18 January 2012. The British ambassador to Tel Aviv discussed penal policy with senior Israeli officials on 6 October 2011, and with the Israeli Prison Service on 26 October, raising issues of concern such as visitation rights (especially for minors), and the treatment of minors, particularly cuffing and shackling. I also discussed the issue with Minister of Justice Neeman during his visit to the region in July 2011 and with the Israeli ambassador to the UK on 26 October 2011.

Israel: Prisoners

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2012, Official Report, columns 585-6W, on Israel: prisoners, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterparts on the concerns raised in the report submitted to the United Nations on 28 December 2011 on the use of solitary confinement on Palestinian children held in Israeli detention.

Alistair Burt: We regularly discuss the treatment of prisoners with the Israeli authorities and have raised concerns over reports of solitary confinement. We remain concerned about the treatment of Palestinian children under the Israeli military justice system.
	I discussed the treatment of prisoners most recently with Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon on 18 January 2012. The British ambassador to Tel Aviv discussed penal policy with senior Israeli officials on 6 October 2011, and with the Israeli Prison Service on 26 October, raising issues of concern such as visitation rights (especially for minors), and the treatment of minors, particularly cuffing and shackling. I also discussed the issue with Minister of Justice Neeman during his visit to the region in July 2011 and with the Israeli ambassador to the UK on 26 October 2011.

Israel: Prisoners

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2012, Official Report, columns 585-6W, on Israel: prisoners, what mechanism he expects the UN to use to respond to the report submitted to it on 28 December 2011 on the use of solitary confinement on Palestinian children held in Israeli detention.

Alistair Burt: We understand that the UN is considering its response to the report submitted to it on 28 December. It is not yet clear what form this might take.
	We are in discussion with the Israeli government on this issue and have raised concerns over reports of solitary confinement. We remain concerned about the treatment of Palestinian children under the Israeli military justice system.
	We welcome Israel's decision on 4 October to raise the age of legal majority for Palestinian children in the Israeli military justice system from 16 to 18 years old. When fully implemented, this will be an important step towards protecting children's rights in the west bank. We continue to lobby for further improvements, including a reduction in the number of arrests that occur at night and the introduction of audio-visual recording of interrogations.

Languages: Education

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to reopen his Department's language schools; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), announced in his speech of 8 September 2011 that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will re-open a language centre in the FCO. The plans for this are being developed as part of FCO's wider Estate Reform Programme. At the same time, under the FCO's “Diplomatic Excellence” initiative, we are already strengthening our language training provision to ensure FCO staff build the expertise required to support British foreign policy priorities.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the attack on Mahmoud Abu Rahma in Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The British Consulate-General in Jerusalem is aware of this incident. Mahmoud Abu Rahma is a human rights defender and Director of Communications and International Relations at the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza. On 13 January 2012, Abu Rahma was walking from the house of his brother Mohammed to his home nearby when three masked individuals carrying sharp tools attacked him and stabbed him in his back, leg and shoulders. Abu Rahma sustained a stab wound in his hand as he tried to defend himself from attacks to his chest. Abu Rahma stated that the attackers had tried to stab him in his chest; however his laptop, which blocked a lot of the attacks, saved him. The attackers then withdrew while shouting death threats and insults.
	Abu Rahma had also recently received threats on his mobile phone and e-mail. It is suspected that these attacks were launched as a result of an opinion piece Abu Rahma had written titled “Absent Protection: Among Resistance, Government and Citizens” in which he criticised the growing power of the Palestinian militant groups and called for protection of the citizens from the militants growing power.
	I issued the following statement on 20 January:
	“I condemn the cowardly stabbing of Mahmoud Abu Rahma, Director of Communications and International Relations at the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, in Gaza on 13 January. Mr Abu Rahma, who studied human rights in the UK, had received a number of death threats over an article he had written in which he argued for greater respect for the rights of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza. Those who carried out this attack must be brought to justice. The freedom of brave activists like Mr Abu Rahma to speak out against the worsening human rights situation in Gaza must be protected.”

Morocco: Politics and Government

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of Morocco on the development of democracy in Morocco.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), visited Morocco in October 2011, where he discussed Morocco's programme of reform with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and other political leaders. He expressed the UK's support for continued reform in Morocco. The Secretary of State also launched programmes under our Arab Partnership, which will support Morocco in its efforts to increase political participation and promote transparency in public institutions.
	Following elections in Morocco, the Deputy Prime Minister spoke to the new Moroccan Head of Government Abdelilah Benkirane by telephone on 20 January. They discussed the new Government's reform plans. The Deputy Prime Minister expressed the UK's support for continued reform in Morocco.

Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received representations on the assets of former President Ben-Ali of Tunisia held in UK or British Overseas Territories.

Alistair Burt: The UK is aware of, and fully supports the Tunisian Government's attempt to recover misappropriated state funds and is committed to taking action consistent with domestic and EU law to return stolen assets.
	On 4 February 2011, the EU adopted Council Regulation (EU) No 101/2011 which imposed an asset freeze on Zine al Abidine Ben Ali. The regulation has direct effect in the UK and has been extended to the Overseas Territories. An asset freeze is now in place against Ben Ali and 47 other individuals. We continue to work with the Tunisian Government to ensure they understand the legal processes involved in releasing and repatriating of assets.

CABINET OFFICE

Business

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate has been made of the number of (a) micro, (b) small and (c) medium-sized businesses in (i) Newton Abbott constituency, (ii) Devon and (iii) the South West.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what recent estimate has been made of the number of (a) micro, (b) small and (c) medium-sized businesses in (i) Newton Abbott constituency, (ii) Devon and (iii) the South West.
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprises are available from the ONS release UK Business: Activity, Size and Location at
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	The following table contains the latest statistics available, which show the number of enterprises in South West, Devon County and Newton Abbot by employee size band.
	
		
			 Count of enterprises in the South West, Devon County and Newton Abbot by employee size bands for 2011 
			  0-9 (micro) 10-49 (small) 50-249 (medium) Total 
			 South West 176,610 16,700 2,680 195,990 
			 Devon County 30,350 2,670 385 33,405 
			 Newton Abbot 2,540 285 50 2,875 
			 Note: The above figures have been rounded to the nearest 5, to avoid disclosure.

Business

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate has been made of the number of businesses in (a) Newton Abbott constituency, (b) Devon and (c) the South West that employ fewer than five people.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what recent estimate has been made of the number of businesses in (a) Newton Abbott constituency, (b) Devon and (c) the South West that employ fewer than five people.
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprises are available from the ONS release UK Business: Activity, Size and Location at
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	The following table contains the latest statistics available, which show the number of enterprises in South West, Devon County and Newton Abbot by employee size band of 0-4.
	
		
			  Employee size 0-4 
			 South West 154,745 
			 Devon County 26,750 
			 Newton Abbot 2,195 
			 Note: The above figures have been rounded to the nearest 5, to avoid disclosure.

Departmental Drinks

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent on (a) wine, (b) other alcoholic refreshments and (c) bottled water since May 2010.

Francis Maude: The information required is not held in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Any expenditure on alcohol is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in “Managing Public Money” and the Treasury handbook on “Regularity and Propriety”.
	The Department publishes monthly information on expenditure on
	www.data.gov.uk

Food Poisoning: Death

Simon Hart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in the UK died as a direct result of food poisoning in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in the UK died as a direct result of food poisoning in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011. (91942)
	The latest available figures for deaths registered in the United Kingdom are for the year 2010. We are therefore not able to provide figures for 2011.
	In the United Kingdom there were 35 deaths with an underlying cause related to food poisoning in 2010. The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes used to define food poisoning are presented in Box 1. Although all of the causes of death included in the answer are related to the ingestion of food, it is not possible to say whether these deaths were definitely associated with the ingestion of food, water or any other substance, since this is not routinely recorded on the death certificate.
	The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age, cause, marital status, and place of death are published annually on the National Statistics website at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-27475
	Figures for Scotland are available in the annual Vital Events Reference Tables produced by the National Records for Scotland at:
	http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/vital-events/general/ref-tables/index.html
	Figures for Northern Ireland are available in an annual statistical bulletin produced by the Northern Ireland Research and Statistics Agency at:
	http://www.nisra.gov.uk/demography/default.asp23.htm
	
		
			 Box 1: Causes of death related to food poisoning—International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) 
			 ICD-10 code(s) Cause of death 
			 A00-A01 Cholera, Typhoid and paratyphoid fevers 
			 A02 Other salmonella infections (excluding typhoid and paratyphoid fevers) 
			 A04.0 Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection 
			 A04.1 Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection 
		
	
	
		
			 A04.2 Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli infection 
			 A04.3 Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection 
			 A04.4 Other intestinal Escherichia coli infection 
			 A04.5 Campylobacter enteritis 
			 A05 Other bacterial foodborne intoxications 
			 A07 Other protozoal intestinal diseases 
			 A32 Listeriosis 
			 B66.1 Clonorchiasis 
			 B66.3 Fascioliasis 
			 B66.4 Paragonimiasis 
			 B68-B70 Taeniasis, Cysticercosis, Diphyllobothriasis and sparganosis 
			 B75 Trichinellosis 
			 B81.0 Anisakiasis 
			 T62 Toxic effect of other noxious substances eaten as food (where X49, X69 or Y19 is the underlying cause) 
			 T64 Toxic effect of aflatoxin and other mycotoxin food contaminants (where X49, X69 or Y19 is the underlying cause) 
			 X49 Accidental poisoning by and exposure to other and unspecified chemicals and noxious substances (where T62 or T64 is the secondary cause) 
			 X69 Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to other and unspecified chemicals and noxious substances (where T62 or T64 is the secondary cause) 
			 Y19 Poisoning by and exposure to other and unspecified chemicals and noxious substances, undetermined intent (where T62 or T64 is the secondary cause)

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the likely effect of the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency's proposals for accelerating the geological disposal programme on the unit costs for disposal of (a) legacy advanced gas-cooled reactor and (b) new build pressurised water reactor spent fuel.

Charles Hendry: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has conducted an initial review of potential options for accelerating the geological disposal facility programme and delivered its report on 22 December 2011. The NDA's report, which is available on the NDA's website, sets out several scenarios and a high level analysis in terms of potential benefits, challenges and risks to the programme. The NDA's report represents initial findings and indicates where further work is needed to determine the viability of options for accelerating key dates within the current indicative timetable. As a first step I have asked the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) to provide advice on the NDA's initial work and my Department will have the work externally peer reviewed in parallel to this. Only when this and the NDA's further work is concluded will the Government be in a position to consider making any firm proposals for acceleration of the programme.

Carbon Emissions

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what he policy is on establishing a permanent data series to monitor carbon dioxide emissions on a producer and consumer basis; with reference to the report commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on development of an embedded carbon emissions indicator, what assessment he has made of the UK-MRIO 1 model; and whether he has considered commissioning such a data series to monitor emissions.

Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	We recognise the value of assessing the UK's consumption emissions, and have published more up-to-date estimates several times since the first Development of an embedded carbon emissions indicator report was produced in 2008. We now have a formal contract in place to provide regular estimates of consumption emissions using the MRIO model, with the first results (for 1990 to 2009) expected in March this year.

Electricity

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the use of short-term operating reserve aggregators; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: National Grid, as the system operator, is responsible for keeping the system in balance, including the procurement of balancing services under the terms of its transmission licence. These balancing services include short term operating reserve (STOR).
	National Grid has contracts, monitoring processes and penalties in place to minimise the risk of paying for capacity that cannot deliver when required. In addition Ofgem places commercial incentives on National Grid to ensure it balances the system efficiently and provides value for consumers, which they assess regularly.

Nuclear Power Stations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what representation his Department will have at the first public meeting on the stress tests of nuclear power plants in Europe and the related peer reviews under the auspices of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group in Brussels on 17 January.

Charles Hendry: The UK Government were represented at the public meeting on the stress tests by the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

Nuclear Power Stations: Hinkley Point

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will investigate the actions of National Grid in relation to the Hinkley Point C Connection and the effect of the scheme on the village of Mark.

Charles Hendry: In accordance with the provisions of the Localism Act 2011, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), will consider National Grid's consent application for the Hinkley Point C Connection once it has been examined by the Planning Inspectorate and he has received its recommendation. For reasons of planning propriety, the Secretary of State will not investigate this proposal at an earlier stage.
	In its announcement of a preferred route corridor for the Hinkley Point C Connection on 29 September 2011, National Grid said it:
	“will continue to work with key stakeholders including local communities to carry out environmental surveys and to consider where under grounding or other mitigating measures such as tree planting and landscaping may be suitable”.
	I would encourage all interested parties to participate in National Grid's ongoing consultation process.

Smart Meters

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department has had with energy suppliers regarding the interoperability of smart meters.

Charles Hendry: The Department regularly meets representatives of the energy industry to discuss various aspects of the rollout of smart meters, including interoperability. Most recently, on 18 January 2012 the Smart Meters programme held meetings of the Home Area Network Advisory Group and Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specifications Stakeholder Advisory Group.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to measure progress on the implementation of policies supporting the big society initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: Departmental business plans set out clear priorities across Government, including what we are putting in place to support the growth of big society, and we continue to report publicly on progress against these priorities at:
	http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/transparency/srp/
	For example, one of DECC's key priorities is the Green Deal. We are aiming to create a flexible framework for the Green Deal (which includes monitoring and evaluation processes) to enable all households in a community to take up energy efficiency measures. To enable and support communities to prepare for this, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), announced 82 community winners in the first tranche of DECC's £10 million Local Energy Assessment Fund “LEAF” on 16 January. They share £4 million to undertake feasibility studies for proposed community energy and energy efficiency schemes. A second tranche of LEAF winners is expected to be announced in early February.

Wind Power

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many applications for the construction of commercial wind turbines have been (a) received and (b) approved in (i) Meriden, (ii) Inverness, Nairn, Badenock and Strathspey, (iii) Chesham and Amersham, (iv) Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk and (v) North Shropshire constituency since May 2010.

Charles Hendry: The UK Government do not hold planning information by constituency in England and Wales. Planning decisions are a devolved matter in Scotland, but I understand that the Scottish Government do not hold information in this format either.

Wind Power

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many applications for the construction of commercial wind turbines have been (a) received and (b) approved in (i) South West Surrey, (ii) Sutton Coldfield, (iii) Putney, (iv) Brentwood and Ongar and (v) Eastleigh constituency since May 2010;
	(2)  how many applications for the construction of commercial wind turbines have been (a) received and (b) approved in (i) Maidenhead, (ii) Rushcliffe, (iii) Tatton, (iv) Richmond (v) Sheffield Hallam, and (vi) Witney constituency since May 2010;
	(3)  how many applications for the construction of commercial wind turbines have been (a) received and (b) approved in (i) South Cambridgeshire, (ii) Surrey Heath, (iii) Chingford and Woodford Green, (iv) Twickenham and (v) Runnymede and Weybridge constituency since May 2010.

Charles Hendry: This information is not available by constituency.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Develoution: England

Frank Field: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether a member or members of the Commission on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons have been appointed to represent the English interest.

Mark Harper: The Commission's focus is on parliamentary business and procedure. Its members have therefore been appointed for their expertise in parliamentary, legal and constitutional matters. No one has been appointed to represent the particular interests of any one of the nations within the United Kingdom.

EU Action

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he has had with discussions with other European politicians in an official capacity regarding (a) EU treaty change and (b) the EU generally since the EU summit of 9 December 2011; and where any such meetings were held.

Nicholas Clegg: I regularly speak to members of other European governments by telephone and in person on a range of issues including the EU, and have done so since 9 December.
	During this period I met in person:
	19 December: German Foreign Minister, Government offices, Westminster.
	9 January: Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Vice Chancellor of Germany, Vice-President of the European Commission, European Commissioner for Education and the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Government offices, Westminster.
	13 January: Irish President, Taoiseach, Tanaiste and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Dublin).
	18 January: Prime Minister of Italy, Government offices, Westminster.
	19 January: Swedish Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister (one individual), Government offices, Westminster.

European Liberals

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he hosted the meeting of European Liberals on 9 January 2012 in his capacity as Deputy Prime Minister.

Nicholas Clegg: I hosted the meeting in my capacity as Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

European Liberals

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether funding from the public purse was provided for the organisation and hosting of the meeting of European Liberals on 9 January 2012.

Nicholas Clegg: No funding was provided from the public purse for the organisation and hosting of the meeting of European Liberal Democrats in Government on 9 January 2012. All costs were met by the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps his Department is taking to measure progress on the implementation of policies supporting the Big Society initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Clegg: For the purposes of corporate administration and financial management, my office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), on 23 January 2012, Official Report, column 46W.

TRANSPORT

Pedicabs

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she plans to take to address the issues raised by the operation of pedicabs; and whether she will discuss these issues with (a) Transport for London, (b) London local authorities and (c) the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association.

Theresa Villiers: Pedicabs outside London are already regarded in law as “hackney carriages” (taxis) and local licensing authorities have the power to license them under the existing legislation which applies to hackney carriages. However, in London, pedicabs do not fall within the legal classification of a hackney carriage and are therefore not subject to formal licensing controls.
	Under the devolution arrangements introduced in the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) are responsible for transport in the Capital. Therefore, it would be for TfL and ultimately the Mayor to consider any matters relating to the operation of pedicabs in London.
	As such the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), currently has no plans to discuss pedicabs with TfL, London local authorities and the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association.

EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which EU (a) Directives, (b) Regulations and (c) other legislation affecting her Department require transposition into UK law; and what estimate she has made of the cost to (i) the public purse and (ii) the private sector of such measures.

Norman Baker: The EU Directives requiring transposition which my Department is directly involved in implementing are:
	Directive 2003/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 April 2003 amending Council Directive 91/671/EEC on the approximation of laws of the member states relating to compulsory use of safety belts in vehicles of less than 3.5 tonnes (one discrete aspect remaining);
	Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences;
	Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community;
	Commission Directive 2008/65/EEC of 27 June 2008 amending Directive 91/439/EEC on driving licences;
	Directive 2008/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 amending Directive 2004/49/EC on safety of the Community's railways (Railway Safety Directive);
	Council Directive 2009/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2009 implementing the Agreement concluded by the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) and the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) on the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, and amending Directive 1999/63/EC;
	Directive 2009/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector and amending Council Directive 1999/35/EC and Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;
	Directive 2009/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the insurance of shipowners for maritime claims;
	Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC;
	Directive 2009/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 98/70/EC as regards the specification of petrol, diesel and gas oil and introducing a mechanism to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and amending Council Directive 1999/32/EC as regards the specification of fuel used by inland waterway vessels and repealing Directive 93/12/EEC;
	Directive 2009/40/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 on roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers;
	Commission Directive 2009/149/EC of 27 November 2009 amending Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards Common Safety Indicators and common methods to calculate accident costs;
	Commission Directive 2010/36/EU of 1 June 2010 amending Directive 2009/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on safety rules and standards for passenger ships;
	Commission Directive 2010/47/EU of 5 July 2010 adapting to technical progress Directive 2000/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Community;
	Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other modes of transport;
	Directive 2010/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports of the member states and repealing Directive 2002/6/EC;
	Commission Directive 2011/18/EU of 1 March 2011 amending Annexes II, V and VI to Directive 2008/57/EC of the Parliament and of the Council on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community;
	Commission Directive 2011/63/EU of 1 June 2011 amending, for the purposes of its adaptation to technical progress, Directive 98/70/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels;
	Commission Directive 2011/75/EU of 2 September 2011 amending Directive 96/98/EC on marine equipment; and Directive 2011/72/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2011 amending Directive 2000/25/EC as regards the provision for tractors placed on the market under the flexibility scheme.
	EU Regulations have direct effect and so do not require transposition although it may be necessary to introduce some related measures, for example to ensure that there are effective remedies and penalties.
	All EU Directives that impact on business or have a major impact on the public sector will have a full impact assessment (IA) carried out on them prior to being transposed. The assessment will include analysing the impacts on the public purse and private sector. These IAs are available on the Department's website at the consultation stage and on the legislation.gov.uk website on enactment of the transposing measure.

EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department holds information on the EU regulations in its policy area which have not been implemented in (a) France and (b) Germany and the dates on which those regulations became EU law; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: To the extent that the information requested is held by the Department, it is not in a systematic form. I therefore regret that providing an accurate answer would impose a disproportionate cost. However, this information is held on the European Commission's EUR-Lex website at:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu

London and South Eastern Railway

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received on the performance of Southeastern Railway.

Norman Baker: Since 16 October 2011, the Department has received a total of seven representations about the performance of Southeastern—three from Members of Parliament and four from members of the public.
	The representations covered delays to trains, crowding and compensation arrangements.

Motorways

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what proportion of the cost of completing the A14 J7-9 Kettering Bypass widening and improvements between Huntingdon and Cambridge will fall beyond the comprehensive spending review period;
	(2)  what proportion of the cost of completing the additional managed motorway schemes M6 J10A-13 and M3 J2-4a will fall beyond the comprehensive spending review period;
	(3)  what proportion of the cost of completing the improvement schemes on the (a) A45/A46, (b) A453 and (c) M1/M6 intersection will fall beyond the comprehensive spending review period.

Michael Penning: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced in his autumn statement in November 2011 funding for six additional Highways Agency major road schemes to be brought forward to start in this spending review period.
	The expenditure planned across the six schemes represents an additional £800 million of investment, of which around 15% would fall in the next spending review period. All of these schemes are expected to make significant progress in the next three years and therefore contribute to stimulating economic growth.
	The Highways Agency are working up detailed delivery timescales or the schemes announced to identify the most efficient start of work dates and we will make announcements on such timescales for each scheme in due course.

Motorways: Accidents

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with representatives of the emergency services on the proposed changes to the Incident and Support Unit service; and if she will publish the minutes of any such discussions.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency is responsible for operating and maintaining the Strategic Road Network (SRN). The Agency has undertaken liaison with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Discussions have taken place at ACPO/Highways Agency Partnership Board (November 2011) and the North West Police Liaison meeting (September 2011). Relevant extracts of the minutes of these meetings will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	This liaison will be supplemented by the Agency's attendance at the Roads Policing Operations Forum on 19 January 2012.
	Additionally, the Agency routinely engages with police at a regional level.

Railways

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will publish an indicative timetable for consultation on the arrangements for the replacement of the TransPennine rail franchise.

Theresa Villiers: On 5 August 2011 the then Secretary of State for Transport my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), arrangements to extend the TransPennine Express franchise. He confirmed that the new contract will end by March 2015, but could be terminated as early as April 2014, the exact timing of which is at the Department's sole discretion. We are currently considering how to make best use of these discretionary arrangements and will publish details of our plans to replace TransPennine Express (including the timetable for public consultation) in due course.

Railways: East Anglia

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any of her Department's guidance or tender documentation for the Greater Anglia franchise included information on the possibility of a reduction in fleet size; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: Bidders for the Greater Anglia franchise were asked to consider a number of issues during the competition to award the contract. These included reducing ticketless travel, improving customer satisfaction and making the franchise more efficient.
	Two of the three bidders demonstrated the same level of services as is currently operated could be delivered with fewer trains. This is to be achieved by a combination of improvements to rolling stock availability and better matching of capacity to demand. So although nine units (36 carriages) will be returned, only 16 fewer carriages will be in service (four units). This is made possible by the more efficient deployment of rolling stock meaning that certain carriages are going to be more heavily used than is currently the case.
	All of the new rolling stock vehicles built for the Greater Anglia franchise are being retained. The returned carriages will come from older stock.
	Where capacity is reduced, the Department has made clear that this must not cause overcrowding for passengers. The criteria for determining what constitutes overcrowding for these purposes is set out in the National Rail Franchise Terms.
	Where possible, the new operator will seek to increase capacity on services which are already experiencing overcrowding. So from the start of the franchise, all the most crowded services will have trains running at the maximum length possible within current infrastructure constraints. There are some services where infrastructure limitations such as platform lengths mean that train lengths cannot be increased at present. In such cases, the availability of additional rolling stock would not help relieve crowding.

Road Traffic Control: Advertising

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if she will reconsider her Department's plan to end the requirement to advertise temporary and permanent traffic regulation orders in local newspapers;
	(2)  what steps her Department plans to take to ensure people without internet access and others are aware of temporary and permanent traffic regulation orders in the absence of a requirement to advertise them in local newspapers.

Norman Baker: I plan to launch shortly a consultation to review the requirement placed on local authorities to publish their proposed traffic orders in local newspapers, and we will carefully consider all representations received. The Department proposes that local authorities should publicise their traffic regulation orders in a manner that they consider appropriate for the target audience.

Roads: Manchester Airport

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the cost of completing the new link road to Manchester airport will fall beyond the comprehensive spending review period.

Norman Baker: The precise time scales for constructing and funding the Link road have yet to be agreed.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to measure progress on the implementation of policies supporting the big society initiative; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport's policies that support this initiative are included in its business plans, with monitoring and evaluation taking place in the course of normal business.

Trains: Disability

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of the extent of disabled access at train stations in (a) England (b) the South West.

Norman Baker: Information about station facilities is a matter for the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and full access audits, partly funded by the Department, of every station in Great Britain were carried out in 2009.
	The Department and Network Rail have also looked at the facilities available at stations across the country in selecting projects for the Access for All programme, with 153 stations selected so far to receive an accessible route. More than 1,000 stations have also received more minor improvements. An additional mid-tier programme was also announced in December worth £37.5 million of further access improvements.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was paid to officials in his Department in (a) bonuses, (b) allowances and (c) other payments additional to basic salary in each of the last two years for which figures are available; what categories of payment may be made to officials in addition to basic salary; what the monetary value is of each category of payment; and what the monetary value was of the 20 largest such payments made in each of the last two years.

Alan Duncan: The following table shows for 2009-10 and 2010-11: (a) the amount paid in non-consolidated performance awards; (b) and (c) allowances and other payments made in addition to base salary and the monetary value of each. The figures provided do not include payments to cover the reimbursement of business expenses nor the reimbursement of education fees.
	
		
			 Total (£) 
			 Payment description 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Non-consolidated Performance Award 1,426,279 1,258,519 
			 Overseas Cost of Living Allowance 3,748,731 3,265,074 
			 Overseas Hardship Allowance 3,624,147 3,593,182 
			 Overseas Relocation Allowances 528,589 585,464 
			 Representation Allowances 199,253 168,614 
			 Overseas Maintenance Allowance 43,144 25,367 
			 Market Allowances 322,343 311,555 
			 Foreign Language Allowance 858 858 
			 On Call Allowance 76,038 61,506 
			 Inner London Dispersal 228 228 
			 Hazardous Locations Allowance 98,504 107,222 
			 Fire warden and Evacuation Pay 4,050 4,500 
		
	
	The following table provides details of the monetary value of the 20 largest such payments made in each of the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	
		
			 2009-10 
			 Ranking Description of payment £ per annum 
			 1 Overseas Hardship Allowance 42,134 
			 2 Overseas Hardship Allowance 41,185 
			 3 Overseas Hardship Allowance 41,086 
			 4 Overseas Hardship Allowance 39,276 
			 5 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,421 
			 6 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,421 
			 7 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,421 
			 8 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,421 
			 9 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,421 
			 10 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,421 
			 11 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,421 
			 12 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,421 
			 13 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,421 
			 14 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,421 
			 15 Overseas Hardship Allowance 35,515 
			 16 Overseas Hardship Allowance 34,128 
			 17 Overseas Hardship Allowance 33,401 
			 18 Overseas Cost of Living Allowance 31,730 
			 19 Overseas Hardship Allowance 30,106 
			 20 Overseas Hardship Allowance 29,847 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 
			 Ranking Description of payment £ per annum 
			 1 Overseas Hardship Allowance 39,864 
			 2 Overseas Hardship Allowance 39,864 
			 3 Overseas Hardship Allowance 36,964 
			 4 Overseas Hardship Allowance 30,207 
			 5 Overseas Hardship Allowance 27,723 
			 6 Overseas Hardship Allowance 27,723 
			 7 Overseas Hardship Allowance 27,723 
			 8 Overseas Hardship Allowance 27,475 
			 9 Overseas Hardship Allowance 27,209 
			 10 Overseas Hardship Allowance 26,576 
			 11 Overseas Hardship Allowance 24,946 
			 12 Overseas Hardship Allowance 23,164 
			 13 Overseas Hardship Allowance 22,556 
			 14 Overseas Cost of Living Allowance 21,879 
			 15 Overseas Cost of Living Allowance 21,879 
			 16 Overseas Hardship Allowance 21,382 
			 17 Overseas Hardship Allowance 21,357 
			 18 Overseas Cost of Living Allowance 20,407 
			 19 Overseas Cost of Living Allowance 20,407 
			 20 Overseas Cost of Living Allowance 20,407

Departmental Recruitment

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) officials and (b) advisers other than his political advisers have been awarded (i) short-term and (ii) permanent contracts outwith his Department's human resources policies.

Alan Duncan: No Department for International Development officials or advisers have been awarded short-term or permanent contracts outwith the Department's human resources policies.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to measure progress on the implementation of policies supporting the Big Society initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: The Cabinet Office monitors progress on policies supporting the Big Society initiative across HMG.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) is contributing to work on the Big Society through its support for: partnerships between schools in the UK and developing countries; the implementation of the International Citizens Service (ICS); and other programmes including work on the Transparency Guarantee.
	To date, DFID has supported over 4,100 school partnerships. Through the pilot phase of the ICS, which gives young people from across the UK the opportunity to make a real difference to some of the world's poorest people while challenging and developing themselves, 1,250 volunteers are taking part and numbers are expected rise to 3,000 a year by 2015. Selection to ICS will be on the basis of demonstrated commitment to social action and/or community service, therefore promoting Big Society values.

DEFENCE

Defence: Official Hospitality

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what hospitality the (a) Chief of the Defence Staff, (b) Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, (c) Chief of the Air Staff, (d) Chief of the General Staff and (e) First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff accepted in 2011.

Philip Hammond: This information is currently being compiled and will be published on the Ministry of Defence website in accordance with the Government's transparency agenda.

Military Aid: Olympic Games 2012

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of training armed services personnel to provide security for the London 1012 Olympic Games.

Nick Harvey: Security training costs incurred for training armed forces personnel to provide security for the London 2012 Olympic games will be contained within the core (Defence Capability) training budget. The Ministry of Defence is also undertaking some specific security assistance to the Home Office, and any training costs incurred there will be recovered from them as necessary.

Military Attaches: Argentina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are attached to the British Embassy in Buenos Aires; what the rank of such personnel is; and what duties they perform.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence has two military personnel attached to the British embassy in Buenos Aires. The Defence Attache is a Colonel, currently from the Royal Marines, and his deputy is a Major, currently from the Army. They are accredited to Argentina and have non-resident accreditation to Uruguay.
	The Defence section is attached to the ambassador's staff as representatives of chief of the Defence staff; as such they represent the MOD and UK armed forces. They pursue security co-operation policies and priorities to enhance Defence Diplomacy and provide bespoke military support to the embassy.

Overseas Territories Dept

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials in his Department are solely responsible for Overseas Territory affairs; and what the (a) job title and (b) specific responsibilities are of each such official.

Nick Harvey: While the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has oversight of the Government's relationship with the Overseas Territories. The Ministry of Defence (MOD), however, does have a clear commitment and responsibility for their defence and security. Responsibility for this is spread across a number of operational, policy and regional areas within the MOD.
	MOD has a small number of officials who work solely on Overseas Territory affairs at the Permanent Joint Headquarters. Their job titles are:
	Assistant Head Permanent Joint Operating Bases, based at PJHQ;
	Policy Officer Permanent Joint Operating Bases, based at PJHQ,

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers remained in the UK in each of the last five years; and what steps she is taking to reduce the numbers of such asylum seekers remaining in the UK after a decision has been made.

Damian Green: holding answer 24 January 2012
	The number of open cases in the New Asylum Model, also known as the asylum Work in Progress case load (WiP) was published on the HM Government website in August 2011, reflecting June data. Of these, the number subject to removal action (ie failed asylum seekers) was 24,738.(1)
	Data on numbers of failed asylum seekers is not available for previous years.
	The agency works hard to overcome barriers to removal for all applicants whose appeal rights are exhausted.
	We are making best use of charter flights to effect volume removals and reduce their unit cost. We have also expanded the range of countries to which we remove, including opening up routes to Sri Lanka. We continue to explore the feasibility of charter services to other logistically difficult destinations.
	We are also enhancing relations with key foreign embassies and high commissions to improve the rate of travel document issuance. We continue to successfully execute re-documentation operations for a number of key nationalities.
	(1) All cases that applied before 5 March 2007, belong to the Case Assurance and Audit Unit (CAAU) and are not included in the New Asylum Model statistics. There were 21,600 of these in the live workflow open in September, as well as 98,000 cases in the controlled archive.

Asylum: Repatriation

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) nationality and (b) gender is of each person who was assisted to return home under the Assisted Voluntary Return Scheme operated by Refugee Action between 1 April 2011 and 1 January 2012; and to which country each person returned.

Damian Green: The following table shows the total number of assisted voluntary returns from the UK by nationality, destination and gender from April 2011 to September 2011.
	
		
			 Assisted voluntary returns from the United Kingdom (1,2) , by nationality, destination (3) and gender ,  April 2011 to 30 September 201 1 (4) 
			 Nationality Destination Male Female Total 
			 Afghanistan Afghanistan 122 0 122 
			 Albania Albania 8 0 8 
			 Algeria Algeria 12 1 13 
		
	
	
		
			 Angola Angola 1 3 4 
			 Argentina Argentina 0 1 1 
			 Bangladesh Bangladesh 63 0 63 
			 Bhutan Bhutan 1 0 1 
			 Bolivia Bolivia 6 8 14 
			 Botswana Botswana 0 3 3 
			 Brazil Brazil 39 28 67 
			 British overseas citizens Hong Kong 2 1 3 
			 Burma Burma 2 0 2 
			 Cameroon Cameroon 2 2 4 
			 Chile Chile 1 0 1 
			 China Bolivia 1 0 1 
			 China China 123 22 145 
			 Colombia Colombia 5 2 7 
			 Costa Rica Costa Rica 2 2 4 
			 Dominica Dominica 0 1 1 
			 Ecuador Ecuador 3 0 3 
			 Egypt Egypt 7 4 11 
			 Gambia Gambia 6 2 8 
			 Georgia Georgia 1 1 2 
			 Ghana Ghana 12 3 15 
			 Grenada Grenada 0 2 2 
			 Guinea Guinea 2 0 2 
			 Guyana Guyana 1 0 1 
			 Hong Kong Hong Kong 0 2 2 
			 India India 111 12 123 
			 Iran Afghanistan 1 0 1 
			 Iran Iran 10 5 15 
			 Iran Iraq 34 0 34 
			 Iraq Iraq 57 6 63 
			 Ivory Coast Ivory Coast 1 1 2 
			 Jamaica Jamaica 9 11 20 
			 Japan Japan 1 3 4 
			 Jordan Jordan 1 2 3 
			 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 0 1 1 
			 Kenya Kenya 2 2 4 
			 Korea (North) Korea (North) 1 1 2 
			 Lebanon Lebanon 1 0 1 
			 Malawi Malawi 9 20 29 
			 Malaysia Malaysia 5 5 10 
			 Mali Mali 2 0 2 
			 Mauritius Mauritius 7 4 11 
			 Mexico Mexico 1 0 1 
			 Moldova Moldova 3 3 6 
			 Mongolia Mongolia 12 10 22 
			 Morocco Morocco 2 0 2 
			 Namibia Namibia 3 0 3 
			 Nepal Nepal 8 0 8 
			 Nigeria Nigeria 37 27 64 
			 Nigeria Ukraine 1 0 1 
			 Occupied Palestinian Territories Lebanon 1 0 1 
			 Pakistan Pakistan 145 15 160 
			 Pakistan Other and unknown 2 0 2 
			 Paraguay Paraguay 1 1 2 
			 Philippines Philippines 1 2 3 
			 Russia Mongolia 1 0 1 
			 Russia Russia 4 0 4 
			 Senegal Senegal 1 0 1 
			 Somalia Tanzania 1 3 4 
			 South Africa South Africa 9 13 22 
			 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 60 13 73 
		
	
	
		
			 Sri Lanka India 4 0 4 
			 St Kitts and Nevis St Kitts and Nevis 1 0 1 
			 Sudan Sudan 3 0 3 
			 Syria Syria 1 3 4 
			 Syria Iraq 3 0 3 
			 Tanzania Tanzania 4 0 4 
			 Thailand Thailand 0 1 1 
			 Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago 2 3 5 
			 Tunisia Tunisia 1 0 1 
			 Turkey Turkey 3 0 3 
			 Uganda Uganda 6 5 11 
			 Ukraine Ukraine 1 2 3 
			 Uzbekistan Uzbekistan 2 1 3 
			 Venezuela Venezuela 1 0 1 
			 Vietnam Vietnam 5 0 5 
			 Zambia Zambia 2 2 4 
			 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 21 25 46 
			 Zimbabwe Mozambique 1 0 1 
			 Grand total  1,028 290 1,318 
			 (1) Figures include dependants. (2) Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (3) Destination as recorded on source database. (4) Provisional figures. Figures will under record due to data cleansing and data matching exercises that take place after the extracts are taken. Note: People leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes run by Refugee Action (prior to April 2011, run by the International Organization for Migration). May include some on-entry cases and some cases where enforcement action had been initiated.

Aviation: Security

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on unmanned HM Revenue and Customs points in UK airports.

Damian Green: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) owns the policy for revenue collection at UK airports. In August 2009 when Customs and Revenue functions at the border were transferred from HMRC to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) the responsibility for operational delivery of this function passed to UKBA.
	The UK Border Agency provides either a physical presence to deal with passengers who need to speak to an officer, or a telephone contact point to link the passenger to an on-duty officer. HMRC public notices for the travelling public include guidance relating to these telephones which are normally situated in the red channel or in advance of the customs exit.

Aviation: Security

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions HM Revenue and Customs points at UK airports were completely unmanned in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the policy for revenue collection at UK airports. In August 2009 when Customs and Revenue functions at the border were transferred from HMRC to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) the responsibility for operational delivery of this function passed to UKBA.
	The UK Border Agency does not hold data on the number of occasions when there has not been a physical UKBA presence in the customs channels at a port or airport.

Cinemas: Crime

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the report of the Film Policy Review, what plans her Department has to create an offence of recording a film in a cinema theatre.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Government will read the Film Policy Review report with interest and will provide their response to the recommendations in due course. However the Government note that legislation currently prohibits the recording of a film in a cinema theatre. Camcording of films within cinemas is already an offence under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Fraud Act 2006. A number of individuals have been successfully convicted under the Fraud Act 2006 for unlawfully recording in a cinema theatre and in one case an initial custodial sentence was passed.

Departmental Manpower

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff in her Department are engaged in delivering (a) frontline and (b) corporate or back office services; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Home Office workforce plans and pay data indicate that around 80% of the current workforce is engaged in (a) frontline services and (b) around 20% is engaged in corporate or back office services.
	The Home Office does not formally distinguish between frontline and back office functions.

Detention Centres: Death

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-UK citizens have died in asylum detention centres in each year from 1995.

Damian Green: The requested information is not available for all the years.
	Numbers of non-UK citizens who have died while held solely under Immigration Act powers in immigration removal centres, short term holding facilities and pre departure accommodation is a subset of published data on those people leaving detention. Information on people leaving detention, by reason, has only been published for 1 January 2005 to 30 September 2006 and for 1 January 2010 onwards. A subset of published information on people leaving detention shows that there were:
	two deaths of non-UK citizens in 2005;
	one death between 1. January and 30 September 2006;
	two deaths in 2010; and
	three deaths between 1 January and 30 September 2011.
	These figures exclude those in police cells, Prison Service establishments, short term holding rooms at ports and airports (for fewer than 24 hours), and those recorded as detained under both criminal and immigration powers and their dependants. The figures include those held for non-asylum reasons.
	Data for other years have not been collected centrally and could only be found at disproportionate cost by investigating individual case records.
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of people leaving detention, held solely under Immigration Act powers, within Immigration Statistics. October to December 2011 detention figures will be published on 23 February 2012 and will be available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science, research and statistics web pages at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Extradition: Egypt

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people were extradited from the UK to Egypt in (a) each year between 1982 and 2010 and (b) 2011 to date; in respect of which offences they were extradited; and if she will place details of these cases in the Library;
	(2)  how many applications have been made by the Egyptian government for the extradition of Egyptian nationals from the UK in each year since 1982; and if she will place details of these cases in the Library.

Damian Green: From 1982 to date, no one has been extradited from the UK to Egypt. It is a matter of long standing policy and practice that the UK will neither confirm nor deny the existence of an extradition request made or received by this country before an arrest is made pursuant to the request.

Extradition: Egypt

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Egyptian government on (a) establishing an extradition treaty between the UK and Egypt and (b) other matters relating to extradition.

Damian Green: UK and Egyptian authorities have had a number of discussions on judicial co-operation issues including extradition in recent years.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 12 December 2011 regarding Mr M Akram.

Damian Green: I refer the right hon. Member to my letter of 23 January 2012.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister for Immigration plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 12 December 2011 regarding Mrs M Ademosu.

Damian Green: I refer the right hon. Member to my letter of 23 January 2012.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 12 December 2011 regarding Mr AG Tarob.

Damian Green: I refer the right hon. Member to my letter of 23 January 2012.

Operation RAMP

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse was of Operation RAMP.

James Brokenshire: Operation RAMP is an Interpol led operation which is still under way, and has involved a number of UK organisations. Details of the costs to date are not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Operation RAMP

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for (a) illegal trade in reptiles and amphibians and (b) irregular paperwork were made following Operation RAMP in the UK.

James Brokenshire: This information is not held centrally.

Oxycodone: Imports

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for the 
	(1)  Home Department when she expects to publish the Government's formal policy to replace the interim policy on the importation of oxycodone;
	(2)  for what reasons her Department's temporary policy on the licensing of oxycodone restricts imports from within the EEA.

James Brokenshire: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), is expected to announce next steps on the policy relating to the importation of oxycodone in March. The temporary policy on the importation of oxycodone recognises the threat posed by the movement of Class A controlled substances while the formal policy is developed.

Police: Olympic Games 2012

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what her most recent estimate is of the number of sniffer dogs which will be available for security purposes during the London 2012 Olympic Games; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many sniffer dogs she expects to be operating in London on an average day during the London 2012 Olympic Games; and how many hours she expects each dog to work each day.

James Brokenshire: The daily number of explosive dog detection teams working across the Olympic theatre of operations will vary day to day based on operational demand and scheduling but it is anticipated that up to 55 teams will be scheduled per day working in support of the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) on venue security. The explosive dog detection teams schedule will allow for days off and the capacity to “surge” during peak demand days.
	This is in addition to the deployment of sniffer dogs from the police service and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The Minister for the Armed Forces, the hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey), has said that no military working dogs will be withdrawn from Afghanistan in order to support this commitment. The police expect to deploy one hundred explosive detection dogs on a peak day during the Games.
	A LOCOG explosive dog detection team (one handler and up to two dogs) will be typically scheduled on shift between eight and 12 hours. The operational task/rest rotation cycle is generally 20 minutes on 20 minutes off. Police sniffer dogs and their handlers will typically work an eight hour shift, which will include rests during searches.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals awarded grants under the Facilitated Returns Scheme (a) have been sentenced to a period in custody in a UK prison and (b) have a criminal conviction for an offence committed in the UK.

Damian Green: All foreign national offenders who are non-EEA nationals who have been convicted and are serving or have served a custodial sentence in a UK prison and are accepted on the Facilitated Returns Scheme (FRS) will be granted an award of payment. This includes circumstances where they have served their sentence while on remand.

Prostitution: Greater London

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many sex workers in the London area have reported attacks on themselves to the police since the creation of Specialist Crime Division 9 in the Metropolitan police:
	(2)  what has been the cost of investigating allegations of trafficking and raids and closures of brothels in the London area since the creation of Specialist Crime Division 9 in the Metropolitan police.

Lynne Featherstone: The information requested is not held centrally.

Vehicle Number Plates: Fraud

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of number plate cloning were reported to the police in (a) the UK, (b) England and (c) West Yorkshire in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is not collected centrally by the Home Office.

JUSTICE

Convictions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the conviction rate was for each offence in (a) Crown courts and (b) magistrates' courts in each year between 1997 and 2011 inclusive;
	(2)  what the conviction rate was in (a) Crown courts and (b) magistrates' courts in each year between 1997 and 2011;
	(3)  how many cases were brought before (a) Crown courts and (b) magistrates' courts in each year since 1997;
	(4)  how many cases for each offence type were heard in (a) Crown courts and (b) magistrates' courts in each year since 1997.

Crispin Blunt: I have placed in the House Library information on the number of defendants; tried and found guilty at the Crown court, or proceeded against and found guilty at magistrates courts, by offence type and conviction ratio, in England and Wales, from 1997 to 2010 (latest available).
	Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in May, 2012.

Criminal Proceedings

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many cases brought before magistrates courts had (a) no previous convictions, (b) one previous conviction, (c) between two and five previous convictions, (d) between six and 10 previous convictions and (e) more than 10 previous convictions in 2011;
	(2)  how many cases brought before the Crown courts had (a) no previous convictions, (b) one previous conviction, (c) between two and five previous convictions, (d) between six and 10 previous convictions and (e) more than 10 previous convictions in 2011.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows offenders sentenced for indictable offences in 2010, in England and Wales, by court type and previous convictions, as recorded on the police national computer. These are the latest available figures for a calendar year and are derived from the data used to produce table A7.8 in Criminal Justice System Statistics, England and Wales 2010. The figures relate to court cases resulting in a sentence for at least one indictable offence; figures for court cases that did not result in a guilty outcome are not available.
	The previous criminal history figures relate to separate sentencing occasions at any time in the offender's criminal history; where an offender was sentenced on the same occasion for several offences it is the primary offence that has been counted. These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	
		
			 Offenders sentenced for indictable offences by court type and previous convictions, 2010 (1) , England and Wales 
			 Number of previous convictions Magistrates courts The Crown court All courts (2) 
			 First time offenders 42,360 22,798 65,716 
			 One previous conviction 24,281 9,443 33,857 
			 Two to five previous convictions 51,753 18,805 70,810 
			 Six to 10 previous convictions 35,707 13,104 48,957 
			 11 or more previous convictions 88,782 25,590 114,780 
			 All offenders (100%) 242,883 89,740 334,120 
			 (1) It is known that in a small proportion of cases the police may incorrectly record on the PNC a magistrates court code instead of a crown court code. (2) The all courts figures include cases where the court is not recorded.

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender is of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support scheme operated by the Salvation Army in November 2011; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme.

Crispin Blunt: In November 2011 there were 44 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. Details are provided in the following table.
	
		
			 Nationality Gender Region Referring organisation 
			 Albanian Female South east Legal representative 
			 Albanian Female South west Self-referral 
			 Albanian Female Wales Legal representative 
			 British Female South east NGO 
			 British Male West Midlands NGO 
			 British Male East Police 
			 Cameroonian Female South east NGO 
			 Czech Male North west NGO 
			 Chinese Female Yorkshire NHS 
			 Chinese Female South east Social services 
			 Ghanaian Female East NGO 
			 Ghanaian Female South east Self-referral 
			 Guinean Female East Prison service 
			 Hungarian Male South east Police 
			 Hungarian Female East Police 
			 Italian Female Yorkshire NGO 
			 Lithuanian Male South east NGO 
			 Nigerian Male South east NGO 
			 Nigerian Female East Self-referral 
			 Nigerian Female South east Self-referral 
			 Nigerian Female South east Social services 
			 Nigerian Female South east UKHTC 
			 Polish Male Wales NGO 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Polish Male South east NGO 
		
	
	
		
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Romanian Female South east NGO 
			 Romanian Female Yorkshire Police 
			 Romanian Female South east Police 
			 Romanian Female South east Police 
			 Slovakian Male South east NGO 
			 Slovakian Female South east NGO 
			 Slovakian Female Yorkshire Police 
			 Slovakian Male North west Police 
			 Slovakian Female North west Police 
			 Ugandan Female South east NGO 
			 Ugandan Female South east UKBA 
			 Vietnamese Female West Midlands Legal representative 
			 Vietnamese Female South east Police 
			 Vietnamese Male South east Social services 
			 Vietnamese Female South east Social services

Legal Aid Scheme

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Legal Services Commission spent on legal aid in each local authority in England and Wales (a) in total and (b) per capita in each of the last 10 years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Legal Services Commission

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what (a) mean and (b) median award was given by the Legal Services Commission to each case start (i) nationally and (ii) in each local authority area in each financial year since 2007-08.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Offences

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of each type of offence type committed.

James Brokenshire: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The Home Department’s online report 30/05 published in 2005 estimated the cost of crimes committed against individuals and households, which are broken down by offence type and into a range of cost categories, some of which cover public sector expenditure or the use of public sector resources. These estimates can be found via the following link on page 15 (Table 4.1).
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.Uk/20100413151441/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/rdsolr3005.pdf
	A copy will be placed in the House Library.

Sentencing

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of those in prison were given custodial sentences of (a) less than six months, (b) between six and 12 months, (c) between 12 months and five years, (d) between five years and 10 years and (e) over 10 years on 1 October of each year between 1995 and 2011.

Crispin Blunt: Data are held centrally on the prison population on the last day of each month, so figures are not available for 1 October each year. Additionally, annual trends are typically compared using the 30 June figures for each year. The following table shows figures as at 30 June of each year from 1995 to 2011.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Proportion of the prison population by spec ific sentence length, 1995-2011 . England and Wales 30 June 
			  Less than or equal to 6 months Greater than 6 months less than 12 months 12 months to less than or equal to 5 years Greater than 5 years to less than or equal to 10 years Greater than 10 years (excl. indeterminates) Indeterminates Recalls Unrecorded 4 years or more (excl. indeterminates) (1) 
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % 
			 1995 4,339 11 2,210 6 20,893 54 6,515 17 1,617 4 3,289 8 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1996 4,582 11 2,376 6 23,635 55 7,103 17 1,729 4 3,489 8 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1997 4,929 10 2,475 5 27,604 57 8,014 16 1,931 4 3,721 8 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1998 5,099 10 2,511 5 29,740 57 8,724 17 2,151 4 3,934 8 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1999 5,190 10 2,190 4 28,296 55 9,114 18 2,297 4 4,206 8 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2000 6,389 12 2,405 5 27,928 53 9,346 18 2,430 5 4,593 9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2001 6,386 12 2,156 4 28,678 53 9,613 18 2,526 5 4,810 9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2002 5,447 10 2,349 4 31,270 55 10,292 18 2,766 5 5,147 9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2003 5,971 10 2,209 4 31,579 53 11,232 19 2,982 5 5,419 9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2004 5,751 9 2,306 4 32,221 5 11,875 19 3,176 5 5,594 9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2005 6,009 10 2,225 4 32,301 52 12,457 20 3,305 5 5,882 9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2006 5,960 9 2,525 4 31,648 50 12,615 20 3,383 5 7,274 11 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2007 5,165 8 2,462 4 32,435 49 12,453 19 3,537 5 9,481 14 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2008 5,873 9 2,866 4 32,477 48 11,963 18 3,562 5 11,382 17 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2009 5,114 7 2,465 4 33,141 48 11,439 17 3,695 5 12,521 18 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2009(2) 5,131 7 2,433 4 28,659 42 10,568 15 3,530 5 12,182 18 5,958 9 n/a n/a 
			 2010 5,343 8 2,502 4 29,173 41 11,051 16 3,801 5 13,134 19 5,350 8 517 1 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 5,441 8 2,373 3 28,573 40 11,557 16 4,038 6 13,644 19 5,646 8 563 1 
			 n/a = Not available (1) Sentence length is not recorded centrally for a small proportion of prisoners. For these cases we have estimated the broad sentence length band, however they cannot be allocated to a more detailed sentence length band. (2) Due to the introduction of a new prison IT system the 2010 prison population data is now taken from a different source and recalls are shown separately (previously recall data was included in the relevant sentence length band). The 2009 figures from both the old and new systems have been provided to aid comparison.

Sentencing: North Wales

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) men and (b) women were sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence of less than six months for each type of offence by the courts in North Wales in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: Persons sentenced to immediate custody at all courts in the North Wales police force area by sex, offence type and length of sentence, from 2006 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
	Court proceedings data for 2011 calendar year are planned for publication in May 2012.
	
		
			 Persons sentenced to immediate custody in North Wales police force area by sex, offence type and sentence length, 2006-2010 (1,2) 
			 Sex Offence type Sentence length 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Males Violence against the person Less than six months 65 28 53 43 35 
			   Six months or longer 154 162 165 167 165 
			  Sexual offences Less than six months 4 4 5 3 5 
			   Six months or longer 32 28 43 28 39 
			  Burglary Less than six months 32 32 32 33 34 
			   Six months or longer 77 62 90 94 79 
			  Robbery Less than six months — 1 — — — 
			   Six months or longer 30 29 26 37 24 
			  Theft and handling offences Less than six months 100 95 127 159 177 
			   Six months or longer 23 25 23 46 19 
			  Fraud and forgery Less than six months 9 11 21 23 20 
			   Six months or longer 6 25 29 31 20 
			  Criminal damage Less than six months 20 15 27 10 11 
			   Six months or longer 10 15 8 11 9 
			  Drug offences Less than six months 11 16 9 19 16 
			   Six months or longer 60 74 64 133 100 
			  Other indictable offences Less than six months 40 34 53 98 101 
			   Six months or longer 81 87 79 101 106 
			  Indictable motoring offences Less than six months 4 3 3 5 — 
			   Six months or longer 15 15 20 22 9 
			  Summary non-motoring offences Less than six months 158 151 178 252 200 
			   Six months or longer 9 7 12 13 5 
			  Summary motoring offences Less than six months 94 79 63 49 37 
			   Six months or longer 5 3 2 1 — 
			  All offences Less than six months 537 469 571 694 636 
			   Six months or longer 502 532 561 684 575 
			   Total immediate custody 1,039 1,001 1,132 1,378 1,211 
			         
			 Females Violence against the person Less than six months 1 7 2 2 1 
			   Six months or longer 7 9 8 11 9 
			  Sexual offences Less than six months — — — — — 
			   Six months or longer — 2 — — — 
			  Burglary Less than six months — 2 1 2 — 
			   Six months or longer 2 3 8 5 6 
			  Robbery Less than six months — — — — — 
			   Six months or longer 2 1 2 1 4 
			  Theft and handling offences Less than six months 15 16 22 17 14 
		
	
	
		
			   Six months or longer — 2 1 6 1 
			  Fraud and forgery Less than six months 2 — 7 6 3 
			   Six months or longer 1 1 2 6 2 
			  Criminal damage Less than six months — 1 1 — — 
			   Six months or longer 1 — 4 3 — 
			  Drug offences Less than six months — 2 2 2 — 
			   Six months or longer 4 5 2 11 6 
			  Other indictable offences Less than six months 3 4 7 11 10 
			   Six months or longer 4 4 1 2 5 
			  Indictable motoring offences Less than six months — — — — — 
			   Six months or longer — 2 — — — 
			  Summary non-motoring offences Less than six months 16 15 12 13 12 
			   Six months or longer — — 2 — 1 
			  Summary motoring offences Less than six months 3 — — 3 — 
			   Six months or longer — — — — — 
			  All offences Less than six months 40 47 54 56 40 
			   Six months or longer 21 29 30 45 34 
			   Total immediate custody 61 76 84 101 74 
			         
			 All persons(3) Violence against the person Less than six months 66 35 55 45 36 
			   Six months or longer 161 171 173 178 174 
			  Sexual offences Less than six months 4 4 5 3 5 
			   Six months or longer 32 30 43 28 39 
			  Burglary Less than six months 32 34 33 35 34 
			   Six months or longer 79 65 98 100 85 
			  Robbery Less than six months — 1 — — — 
			   Six months or longer 32 30 28 38 28 
			  Theft and handling offences Less than six months 115 111 149 177 191 
			   Six months or longer 23 27 24 52 20 
			  Fraud and forgery Less than six months 11 11 28 29 23 
			   Six months or longer 7 26 31 37 22 
			  Criminal damage Less than six months 20 16 28 10 11 
			   Six months or longer 11 15 12 14 9 
			  Drug offences Less than six months 11 18 11 21 16 
			   Six months or longer 64 79 66 144 106 
			  Other indictable offences Less than six months 43 38 60 110 111 
			   Six months or longer 85 91 80 103 111 
			  Indictable motoring offences Less than six months 4 3 3 5 — 
			   Six months or longer 15 17 20 22 9 
			  Summary non-motoring offences Less than six months 174 166 190 266 213 
			   Six months or longer 9 7 14 13 6 
			  Summary motoring offences Less than six months 97 79 63 52 37 
			   Six months or longer 5 3 2 1 — 
			  All offences Less than six months 577 516 625 753 677 
			   Six months or longer 523 561 591 730 609 
			   Total immediate custody 1,100 1,077 1,216 1,483 1,286 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes those cases where the defendant's sex was ‘not stated’, therefore the ‘Males’ and ‘Females’ figures may not match the ‘All Persons’ totals. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services within the Ministry of Justice.

Stalking

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) perpetrators and (b) victims he estimates will be referred to the National Stalking Clinic in 2012.

Lynne Featherstone: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The Home Department does not hold this information.
	The National Stalking Clinic is an independent clinic set up by the North London Forensic Service of the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust.

Youth Custody: Ethnic Groups

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many incidents of self harm of people in each (a) age and (b) ethnic group there have been in each secure training centre in each month since 2008.

Crispin Blunt: The tables show the number of incidents of self harm of young people (aged 10 to 17) in each age group (Table 1) and ethnic group (Table 2) for each Secure Training Centre by month from 2008-09 to 2009-10. This information has been provided by the Youth Justice Board (YJB).
	These data come from monthly returns from secure establishments to the YJB. Due to the way these data are collected it is not possible to tell if the same young people are involved in multiple incidents throughout the year. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.
	Data for 2010-11 will be published on 26 January 2012 in the 2010-11 Youth Justice Statistics publication, which will be available on the Ministry of Justice website.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of self harm incidents in each Secure Training Centre (STC) by age group and month from April 2008 to March 2010 
			  2008 
			 Age  g roup Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 
			 Age 10 to 14          
			 Hassockfield 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 6 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Oakhill 2 0 4 0 0 0 2 0 3 
			 Rainsbrook 6 5 2 2 2 0 4 5 2 
			           
			 Age 15 to 17          
			 Hassockfield 2 4 5 7 7 4 3 1 2 
			 Medway 3 5 3 11 11 7 6 6 0 
			 Oakhill 31 16 10 3 3 1 0 0 1 
			 Rainsbrook 7 5 2 5 5 5 13 10 11 
		
	
	
		
			  2009 2010 
			 Age  g roup Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 
			 Age 10 to 14                
			 Hassockfield 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 1 2 2 3 3 1 0 6 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Oakhill 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 2 2 0 2 1 0 0 2 8 10 2 0 0 0 0 
			                 
			 Age 15 to 17                
			 Hassockfield 1 2 5 2 6 4 2 2 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 
			 Medway 4 6 8 10 9 5 6 6 2 3 2 0 0 2 2 
			 Oakhill 1 6 1 4 2 4 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 
			 Rainsbrook 14 7 3 3 5 3 5 5 6 13 7 7 7 3 5 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of self harm incidents in each Secure Training Centre (STC) by ethnic group and month from April 2008 to March 2010 
			  2008 
			 Ethnic  g roup Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 
			 White          
			 Hassockfield 2 4 6 8 8 4 3 1 1 
			 Medway 8 6 10 8 8 7 6 6 2 
			 Oakhill 22 14 9 3 3 0 0 0 4 
			 Rainsbrook 11 8 4 6 6 4 17 15 13 
			           
			 Black and Minority Ethnic (BME)          
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Medway 1 1 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Oakhill 11 2 5 0 0 1 2 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 2 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  2009 2010 
			 Ethnic g roup Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 
			 White                
			 Hassockfield 2 3 4 1 7 4 2 4 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 
			 Medway 3 5 9 13 12 3 3 11 4 3 2 0 1 2 3 
			 Oakhill 2 5 1 4 2 4 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 
			 Rainsbrook 16 5 2 3 6 3 5 7 9 19 9 5 7 3 4 
			                 
			 Black and Minority Ethnic (BME)                
			 Hassockfield 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 2 3 1 0 0 3 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 4 0 2 0 0 1

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business: Government Assistance

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) micro, (b) small and (c) medium-sized enterprises in Newton Abbott constituency have received assistance from schemes administered by his Department since May 2010.

Mark Prisk: The total number, of micro, small and medium sized enterprises that have received assistance from Government schemes is not available. However where information is held at a constituency level on the number of such businesses supported under the Government's Solutions for Business portfolio, this is set out in the following table. (The EU definition is for micro—less than 10 people, small—less than 50 people, and medium—less than 250 people).
	
		
			 Product Newton Abbott Comment 
			 Manufacturing Advisory Service Micro = 6 Figures are 1 May 2010-13 January 2012 
			  Small = 7 — 
			  Medium = 6 — 
			  Total = 19 — 
			 Access to finance Seven companies with a drawn down total of £0.67 million. These figures are for the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme only 
			 Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Small = 1 — 
			  Medium = 1 — 
		
	
	For other schemes under the Solutions for Business portfolio, such as Rural Development Programme for England, Helping your Business Grow Internationally, and Work Place Training (including apprenticeships), Knowledge Transfer Networks, information is only available at a national level.
	In addition, the Government have funded the provision of a range of online information and assistance to small and medium sized enterprises through Business Link, including a regional advisory service, which was managed by England's Regional Development Agencies but closed on 25 November 2011. Information on beneficiaries by constituency is not available. However, from Business Link information provided by the South West Regional Development Agency, for the reporting periods April 2010 to March 2011 and April 2011 to end November 2011, the number of small and medium sized business assisted in the South West of England between April 2010 and end November 2011 is 91,011.

Energy: Conservation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans UK Green Investments has to invest in non-domestic energy efficiency projects.

Mark Prisk: UK Green Investments (UKGI) will seek to drive investment in both small scale and large scale non-domestic energy efficiency projects, with a budget of up to £100 million for investment in this sector in 2012/13. The team is currently developing investment opportunities. In the period before state aid approval for the Green Investment Bank is received, UKGI will invest on a commercial basis or under existing programmes that already have state aid approval. The UKGI team will ensure all deals are properly scrutinised and compliant with state aid rules, with a dedicated Investment Committee assessing individual investments against the double bottom line of financial returns and green impact.

Exports

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises have exported to international markets in each year since 1997.

Mark Prisk: Data on the total number of enterprises exporting to international markets are not currently available for the UK. Although HMRC publishes data on the number of firms which export goods, these figures exclude firms which export services. Until recently these figures also excluded firms whose exports to the EU were below a threshold level and firms which did not export outside the EU. Until very recently these figures were not available by firm size, so that estimates of the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which exported goods were unavailable. Recent analysis by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) identified 101,712 SME goods exporters in 2009. This count included firms exporting below the EU threshold.
	Although data on the total number of SME exporters including both goods and services is not available from HMRC, business surveys can provide a basis for estimating the number of SME employers which export. Of these, the BIS Small Business Survey is the best source of evidence about SMEs, including very small firms, and provides some evidence of trends since 2003 when the survey began. Estimates of the number of SME exporters are provided in the following table, based on results of these surveys, and figures for the number of SME employers at the time of each survey. The table focuses on SME employers only, because exporting is less frequent among firms with no employees, and is also more difficult to estimate reliably.
	Most of the fluctuation year to year observed in the table is due simply to statistical variation in the survey estimates of the percentages which export, and is therefore not significant. However, there is some evidence that the number of SME employers who export has risen over the period. This is consistent with findings from evidence reviewed in recent BIS Economics Paper No 5—“Internationalisation of Innovative and High Growth SMEs” (2010) available at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/economics-and-statistics/docs/10-804-bis-economics-paper-05
	
		
			 Small Business survey 
			 Date of f ieldwork Number of SMEs with employees (1) Estimated number of SME employer exporters 
			 2003 1,172,575 245,000 
			 2005 1,165,790 245,000 
			 2006 1,185,345 200,000 
			 2007 1,213,620 290,000 
			 2008 1,225,455 295,000 
			 2010 1,201,395 276,000 
			 (1 )Business population estimates (BIS) available at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/analysis/statistics/business-population-estimates

Green Investment Bank

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what form of support will be provided by the Green Investment Bank for the commercial development of wave and tidal technology;
	(2)  for what reason innovative energy projects such as wave and tidal technology were not identified as a priority sector for the Green Investment Bank over the Comprehensive Spending Review period; and what consideration he has given to identifying this as such;
	(3)  whether he plans to issue guidance to the Green Investment Bank identifying specific products, such as debt finance, designed to de-risk investments in wave and tidal technology.

Mark Prisk: The selection of the initial five priority sectors was made against the criteria of green impact, additionality and commercial investability in mature infrastructure over the period to 2015 as well as complementing and not duplicating other government policies including other financial support. As a relatively early-stage technology compared with other green sectors, marine energy displayed relatively low commercial investability in mature infrastructure within the time frame considered. Other government policies and finance initiatives are focused on prioritising financial support for marine energy at its current stage of development. Government and the GIB Board will reconsider priority sectors periodically.
	While at least 80% of the funds committed by the bank over the spending review period will be invested in the priority sectors, the intention is for the bank to be given an overall broad remit to focus on green infrastructure. This would include the marine energy sector. All potential investments will be assessed by the bank against green impact, sound finances and additionality.
	The bank will be given the freedom to develop and deploy a wide range of products within the parameters set by the terms of its state aid approval.

Green Investment Bank: Fossil Fuel Levy

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what the £103 million of funding from the Scottish Fossil Fuel Levy, which his Department announced in November 2011 would be made available to the Green Investment Bank, will be spent on;
	(2)  whether he has given consideration to vary the £103 million of funding from the Scottish Fossil Fuel Obligation Levy, which his Department announced in November 2011 would be made available to the Green Investment Bank, to support the commercialisation of wave and tidal technology.

Mark Prisk: The £103 million from the Scottish Fossil Fuel Levy will contribute towards the total of £3 billion of funds, for the Green Investment Bank (GIB) and it will not be directed towards any particular sector.
	The statement by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), to the House in December 2011 set out the initial priority areas in which the GIB would invest.
	Our intention is for the bank to be given a broad remit, which would include the marine energy sector, with Ministers and the board agreeing priority sectors periodically and the bank making individual investment decisions.
	The bank will be given the operational freedom to make individual investments designed to maximise returns against the double bottom line of green impact and financial return.

Higher Education: Student Numbers

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students were registered as being in higher education in each parliamentary constituency in 2011.

David Willetts: Information on the number of English-domicile enrolments to UK higher education institutions is shown in the following table. Equivalent figures for enrolments to higher education courses at further education colleges are not available. Figures are provided for the academic year 2010/11. Information for the 2011/12 academic year will become available from January 2013.
	
		
			 English-domicile (1)  enrolments by parliamentary constituency (2) —UK higher education institutions, academic year 2010/11 
			 Parliamentary constituency Total 
			 Aldershot 2,685 
			 Aldridge-Brownhills 2,215 
			 Altrincham and Sale West 4,295 
			 Amber Valley 2,040 
			 Arundel and South Downs 2,990 
			 Ashfield 1,870 
			 Ashford 3,270 
			 Ashton-under-Lyne 2,450 
			 Aylesbury 3,695 
			 Banbury 3,460 
			 Barking 4,385 
			 Barnsley Central 2,085 
			 Barnsley East 1,820 
			 Barrow and Furness 2,805 
			 Basildon and Billericay 2,260 
			 Basingstoke 2,860 
			 Bassetlaw 2,535 
			 Bath 3,680 
			 Batley and Spen 2,445 
			 Battersea 3,745 
			 Beaconsfield 3,725 
			 Beckenham 3,375 
			 Bedford 3,345 
			 Bermondsey and Old Southwark 5,225 
			 Berwick-upon-Tweed 2,090 
			 Bethnal Green and Bow 4,805 
			 Beverley and Holderness 3,575 
			 Bexhill and Battle 2,820 
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford 2,640 
			 Birkenhead 2,560 
			 Birmingham, Edgbaston 3,830 
			 Birmingham, Erdington 2,595 
			 Birmingham, Hall Green 4,705 
			 Birmingham, Hodge Hill 3,280 
			 Birmingham, Ladywood 4,250 
			 Birmingham, Northfield 2,595 
			 Birmingham, Perry Barr 3,785 
			 Birmingham, Selly Oak 3,545 
			 Birmingham, Yardley 2,730 
			 Bishop Auckland 2,295 
			 Blackburn 3,105 
			 Blackley and Broughton 3,050 
			 Blackpool North and Cleveleys 2,070 
			 Blackpool South 1,790 
			 Blaydon 2,470 
			 Blyth Valley 2,075 
			 Bognor Regis and Littlehampton 1,955 
			 Bolsover 1,815 
			 Bolton North East 2,905 
			 Bolton South East 2,790 
			 Bolton West 3,435 
			 Bootle 3,085 
			 Boston and Skegness 2,240 
			 Bosworth 2,665 
			 Bournemouth East 2,995 
			 Bournemouth West 2,415 
		
	
	
		
			 Bracknell 3,210 
			 Bradford East 2,565 
			 Bradford South 2,075 
			 Bradford West 2,980 
			 Braintree 2,560 
			 Brent Central 5,330 
			 Brent North 5,505 
			 Brentford and Isleworth 5,050 
			 Brentwood and Ongar 3,160 
			 Bridgwater and West Somerset 2,450 
			 Brigg and Goole 2,060 
			 Brighton, Kemptown 2,605 
			 Brighton, Pavilion 4,425 
			 Bristol East 2,535 
			 Bristol North West 3,265 
			 Bristol South 2,570 
			 Bristol West 6,205 
			 Broadland 2,610 
			 Bromley and Chislehurst 3,135 
			 Bromsgrove 3,210 
			 Broxbourne 2,620 
			 Broxtowe 3,370 
			 Buckingham 3,990 
			 Burnley 2,610 
			 Burton 3,040 
			 Bury North 3,105 
			 Bury South 3,590 
			 Bury St Edmunds 3,655 
			 Calder Valley 3,460 
			 Camberwell and Peckham 6,135 
			 Camborne and Redruth 2,485 
			 Cambridge 4,415 
			 Cannock Chase 2,450 
			 Canterbury 4,395 
			 Carlisle 2,175 
			 Carshalton and Wallington 3,210 
			 Castle Point 1,830 
			 Central Devon 2,755 
			 Central Suffolk and North Ipswich 3,215 
			 Charnwood 3,285 
			 Chatham and Aylesford 2,585 
			 Cheadle 3,890 
			 Chelmsford 3,830 
			 Chelsea and Fulham 3,595 
			 Cheltenham 3,665 
			 Chesham and Amersham 3,940 
			 Chesterfield 2,430 
			 Chichester 3,310 
			 Chingford and Woodford Green 3,505 
			 Chippenham 3,240 
			 Chipping Barnet 5,045 
			 Chorley 3,375 
			 Christchurch 2,040 
			 Cities of London and Westminster 4,190 
			 City of Chester 3,760 
			 City of Durham 3,195 
			 Clacton 1,590 
			 Cleethorpes 2,110 
			 Colchester 3,835 
			 Colne Valley 3,870 
			 Congleton 3,370 
			 Copeland 2,165 
			 Corby 3,080 
			 Coventry North East 3,545 
		
	
	
		
			 Coventry North West 3,580 
			 Coventry South 4,245 
			 Crawley 2,500 
			 Crewe and Nantwich 2,965 
			 Croydon Central 3,995 
			 Croydon North 5,780 
			 Croydon South 4,440 
			 Dagenham and Rainham 3,040 
			 Darlington 3,065 
			 Dartford 2,840 
			 Daventry 3,265 
			 Denton and Reddish 2,145 
			 Derby North 3,430 
			 Derby South 3,030 
			 Derbyshire Dales 2,815 
			 Devizes 2,870 
			 Dewsbury 3,000 
			 Don Valley 2,235 
			 Doncaster Central 2,445 
			 Doncaster North 1,835 
			 Dover 2,630 
			 Dudley North 2,050 
			 Dudley South 1,925 
			 Dulwich and West Norwood 5,275 
			 Ealing Central and Acton 5,120 
			 Ealing North 4,860 
			 Ealing, Southall 4,065 
			 Easington 2,015 
			 East Devon 2,660 
			 East Ham 5,935 
			 East Hampshire 3,280 
			 East Surrey 3,205 
			 East Worthing and Shoreham 2,295 
			 East Yorkshire 2,960 
			 Eastbourne 2,845 
			 Eastleigh 2,795 
			 Eddisbury 3,055 
			 Edmonton 4,440 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 2,755 
			 Elmet and Rothwell 2,985 
			 Eltham 3,195 
			 Enfield North 3,815 
			 Enfield, Southgate 4,175 
			 Epping Forest 2,920 
			 Epsom and Ewell 3,685 
			 Erewash 2,290 
			 Erith and Thamesmead 4,245 
			 Esher and Walton 4,160 
			 Exeter 3,205 
			 Fareham 2,970 
			 Faversham and Mid Kent 2,785 
			 Feltham and Heston 4,065 
			 Filton and Bradley Stoke 2,985 
			 Finchley and Golders Green 5,465 
			 Folkestone and Hythe 2,990 
			 Forest of Dean 2,270 
			 Fylde 2,995 
			 Gainsborough 2,850 
			 Garston and Halewood 3,245 
			 Gateshead 2,510 
			 Gedling 2,680 
			 Gillingham and Rainham 2,950 
			 Gloucester 2,915 
			 Gosport 2,575 
		
	
	
		
			 Grantham and Stamford 3,375 
			 Gravesham 2,680 
			 Great Grimsby 1,570 
			 Great Yarmouth 2,070 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 4,560 
			 Guildford 3,815 
			 Hackney North and Stoke Newington 5,370 
			 Hackney South and Shoreditch 5,345 
			 Halesowen and Rowley Regis 2,420 
			 Halifax 2,590 
			 Haltemprice and Howden 3,410 
			 Halton 2,595 
			 Hammersmith 4,675 
			 Hampstead and Kilburn 5,250 
			 Harborough 3,880 
			 Harlow 2,275 
			 Harrogate and Knaresborough 3,890 
			 Harrow East 4,830 
			 Harrow West 4,660 
			 Hartlepool 3,065 
			 Harwich and North Essex 2,735 
			 Hastings and Rye 2,705 
			 Havant 2,070 
			 Hayes and Harlington 3,635 
			 Hazel Grove 2,320 
			 Hemel Hempstead 2,975 
			 Hemsworth 2,150 
			 Hendon 5,385 
			 Henley 3,935 
			 Hereford and South Herefordshire 2,805 
			 Hertford and Stortford 3,925 
			 Hertsmere 3,650 
			 Hexham 3,180 
			 Heywood and Middleton 3,170 
			 High Peak 3,110 
			 Hitchin and Harpenden 4,190 
			 Holborn and St Pancras 5,890 
			 Hornchurch and Upminster 3,065 
			 Hornsey and Wood Green 5,975 
			 Horsham 3,270 
			 Houghton and Sunderland South 2,295 
			 Hove 3,495 
			 Huddersfield 3,025 
			 Huntingdon 3,460 
			 Hyndburn 2,475 
			 Ilford North 4,435 
			 Ilford South 5,895 
			 Ipswich 3,035 
			 Isle of Wight 3,590 
			 Islington North 4,680 
			 Islington South and Finsbury 4,025 
			 Jarrow 2,265 
			 Keighley 2,735 
			 Kenilworth and Southam 3,455 
			 Kensington 4,065 
			 Kettering 2,795 
			 Kingston and Surbiton 4,685 
			 Kingston upon Hull East 1,920 
			 Kingston upon Hull North 2,780 
			 Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 2,135 
			 Kingswood 2,310 
			 Knowsley 2,825 
			 Lancaster and Fleetwood 2,980 
		
	
	
		
			 Leeds Central 3,230 
			 Leeds East 2,275 
			 Leeds North East 4,670 
			 Leeds North West 3,255 
			 Leeds West 2,575 
			 Leicester East 3,890 
			 Leicester South 4,245 
			 Leicester West 3,035 
			 Leigh 2,860 
			 Lewes 2,735 
			 Lewisham East 4,275 
			 Lewisham West and Penge 4,370 
			 Lewisham, Deptford 5,455 
			 Leyton and Wanstead 4,500 
			 Lichfield 3,180 
			 Lincoln 3,060 
			 Liverpool, Riverside 4,080 
			 Liverpool, Walton 2,435 
			 Liverpool, Wavertree 3,620 
			 Liverpool, West Derby 2,855 
			 Loughborough 3,025 
			 Louth and Horncastle 2,435 
			 Ludlow 2,635 
			 Luton North 3,355 
			 Luton South 3,335 
			 Macclesfield 3,570 
			 Maidenhead 3,735 
			 Maidstone and The Weald 3,185 
			 Makerfield 2,605 
			 Maldon 2,560 
			 Manchester Central 4,225 
			 Manchester, Gorton 3,780 
			 Manchester, Withington 4,460 
			 Mansfield 2,125 
			 Meon Valley 2,990 
			 Meriden 3,810 
			 Mid Bedfordshire 3,555 
			 Mid Derbyshire 3,105 
			 Mid Dorset and North Poole 2,710 
			 Mid Norfolk 2,605 
			 Mid Sussex 3,585 
			 Mid Worcestershire 2,860 
			 Middlesbrough 3,305 
			 Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland 3,620 
			 Milton Keynes North 4,420 
			 Milton Keynes South 4,785 
			 Mitcham and Morden 3,865 
			 Mole Valley 3,555 
			 Morecambe and Lunesdale 2,440 
			 Morley and Outwood 2,605 
			 New Forest East 2,425 
			 New Forest West 2,205 
			 Newark 3,010 
			 Newbury 3,300 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne Central 2,990 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne East 3,435 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne North 2,905 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 2,940 
			 Newton Abbot 2,400 
			 Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford 2,100 
			 North Cornwall 2,435 
		
	
	
		
			 North Devon 2,700 
			 North Dorset 2,940 
			 North Durham 2,260 
			 North East Bedfordshire 3,380 
			 North East Cambridgeshire 2,255 
			 North East Derbyshire 2,295 
			 North East Hampshire 3,500 
			 North East Hertfordshire 3,205 
			 North East Somerset 2,950 
			 North Herefordshire 2,735 
			 North Norfolk 1,965 
			 North Shropshire 3,235 
			 North Somerset 3,505 
			 North Swindon 2,180 
			 North Thanet 2,520 
			 North Tyneside 2,710 
			 North Warwickshire 2,350 
			 North West Cambridgeshire 3,670 
			 North West Durham 2,585 
			 North West Hampshire 2,900 
			 North West Leicestershire 2,500 
			 North West Norfolk 2,135 
			 North Wiltshire 3,060 
			 Northampton North 2,645 
			 Northampton South 2,945 
			 Norwich North 2,215 
			 Norwich South 3,375 
			 Nottingham East 3,060 
			 Nottingham North 1,835 
			 Nottingham South 3,115 
			 Nuneaton 2,625 
			 Old Bexley and Sidcup 2,580 
			 Oldham East and Saddleworth 3,095 
			 Oldham West and Royton 2,795 
			 Orpington 2,920 
			 Oxford East 4,840 
			 Oxford West and Abingdon 5,220 
			 Pendle 2,650 
			 Penistone and Stocksbridge 2,645 
			 Penrith and The Border 2,520 
			 Peterborough 2,775 
			 Plymouth, Moor View 2,160 
			 Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport 3,915 
			 Poole 2,475 
			 Poplar and Limehouse 4,390 
			 Portsmouth North 2,460 
			 Portsmouth South 3,045 
			 Preston 2,960 
			 Pudsey 2,945 
			 Putney 3,570 
			 Rayleigh and Wickford 2,355 
			 Reading East 4,035 
			 Reading West 3,195 
			 Redcar 3,175 
			 Redditch 2,390 
			 Reigate 3,220 
			 Ribble Valley 3,855 
			 Richmond (Yorks) 3,920 
			 Richmond Park 5,415 
			 Rochdale 3,230 
			 Rochester and Strood 2,950 
			 Rochford and Southend East 2,650 
		
	
	
		
			 Romford 2,720 
			 Romsey and Southampton North 3,045 
			 Rossendale and Darwen 3,275 
			 Rother Valley 2,490 
			 Rotherham 2,040 
			 Rugby 3,000 
			 Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner 4,025 
			 Runnymede and Weybridge 2,940 
			 Rushcliffe 3,815 
			 Rutland and Melton 3,350 
			 Saffron Walden 3,550 
			 Salford and Eccles 3,095 
			 Salisbury 3,055 
			 Scarborough and Whitby 3,210 
			 Scunthorpe 1,940 
			 Sedgefield 2,625 
			 Sefton Central 3,960 
			 Selby and Ainsty 2,995 
			 Sevenoaks 3,095 
			 Sheffield Central 4,070 
			 Sheffield South East 2,070 
			 Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough 2,720 
			 Sheffield, Hallam 4,415 
			 Sheffield, Heeley 2,620 
			 Sherwood 2,280 
			 Shipley 3,215 
			 Shrewsbury and Atcham 3,800 
			 Sittingbourne and Sheppey 2,580 
			 Skipton and Ripon 3,330 
			 Sleaford and North Hykeham 3,715 
			 Slough 4,250 
			 Solihull 3,940 
			 Somerton and Frome 3,220 
			 South Basildon and East Thurrock 2,195 
			 South Cambridgeshire 4,540 
			 South Derbyshire 2,875 
			 South Dorset 2,410 
			 South East Cambridgeshire 3,875 
			 South East Cornwall 3,030 
			 South Holland and The Deepings 2,290 
			 South Leicestershire 3,140 
			 South Norfolk 2,990 
			 South Northamptonshire 3,995 
			 South Ribble 3,910 
			 South Shields 2,105 
			 South Staffordshire 3,145 
			 South Suffolk 2,800 
			 South Swindon 2,620 
			 South Thanet 2,925 
			 South West Bedfordshire 3,075 
			 South West Devon 3,300 
			 South West Hertfordshire 4,165 
			 South West Norfolk 2,270 
			 South West Surrey 3,710 
			 South West Wiltshire 2,645 
			 Southampton, Itchen 2,330 
			 Southampton, Test 3,015 
			 Southend West 2,655 
			 Southport 3,470 
			 Spelthorne 2,425 
			 St Albans 3,810 
		
	
	
		
			 St Austell and Newquay 2,830 
			 St Helens North 2,675 
			 St Helens South and Whiston 3,050 
			 St Ives 2,940 
			 Stafford 3,610 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 2,525 
			 Stalybridge and Hyde 2,605 
			 Stevenage 2,800 
			 Stockport 2,670 
			 Stockton North 2,905 
			 Stockton South 4,470 
			 Stoke-on-Trent Central 2,395 
			 Stoke-on-Trent North 2,485 
			 Stoke-on-Trent South 2,450 
			 Stone 3,270 
			 Stourbridge 2,645 
			 Stratford-on-Avon 3,025 
			 Streatham 4,900 
			 Stretford and Urmston 3,555 
			 Stroud 3,250 
			 Suffolk Coastal 2,950 
			 Sunderland Central 3,135 
			 Surrey Heath 3,425 
			 Sutton and Cheam 3,395 
			 Sutton Coldfield 4,270 
			 Tamworth 2,705 
			 Tatton 3,170 
			 Taunton Deane 3,555 
			 Telford 2,230 
			 Tewkesbury 3,070 
			 The Cotswolds 3,200 
			 The Wrekin 2,970 
			 Thirsk and Malton 2,945 
			 Thornbury and Yate 2,700 
			 Thurrock 2,705 
			 Tiverton and Honiton 2,515 
			 Tonbridge and Malling 3,170 
			 Tooting 4,335 
			 Torbay 2,620 
			 Torridge and West Devon 3,065 
			 Totnes 2,510 
			 Tottenham 5,435 
			 Truro and Falmouth 3,840 
			 Tunbridge Wells 3,690 
			 Twickenham 4,790 
			 Tynemouth 3,770 
			 Uxbridge and South Ruislip 3,300 
			 Vauxhall 4,945 
			 Wakefield 2,335 
			 Wallasey 2,900 
			 Walsall North 1,855 
			 Walsall South 2,915 
			 Walthamstow 4,365 
			 Wansbeck 2,220 
			 Wantage 4,065 
			 Warley 2,810 
			 Warrington North 2,945 
			 Warrington South 3,990 
			 Warwick and Leamington 3,550 
			 Washington and Sunderland West 2,220 
			 Watford 3,975 
			 Waveney 2,390 
			 Wealden 3,370 
			 Weaver Vale 3,025 
		
	
	
		
			 Wellingborough 2,880 
			 Wells 3,125 
			 Welwyn Hatfield 3,425 
			 Wentworth and Dearne 1,925 
			 West Bromwich East 2,435 
			 West Bromwich West 2,040 
			 West Dorset 3,065 
			 West Ham 6,665 
			 West Lancashire 3,405 
			 West Suffolk 2,370 
			 West Worcestershire 3,255 
			 Westminster North 4,275 
			 Westmorland and Lonsdale 2,865 
			 Weston-Super-Mare 2,820 
			 Wigan 2,875 
			 Wimbledon 4,190 
			 Winchester 3,845 
			 Windsor 3,490 
			 Wirral South 2,910 
			 Wirral West 3,195 
			 Witham 2,430 
			 Witney 3,805 
			 Woking 3,510 
			 Wokingham 4,210 
			 Wolverhampton North East 2,480 
			 Wolverhampton South East 2,215 
			 Wolverhampton South West 3,365 
			 Worcester 3,120 
			 Workington 1,990 
			 Worsley and Eccles South 2,715 
			 Worthing West 2,210 
			 Wycombe 3,860 
			 Wyre and Preston North 3,825 
			 Wyre Forest 2,450 
			 Wythenshawe and Sale East 2,910 
			 Yeovil 2,775 
			 York Central 3,675 
			 York Outer 3,325 
			 Total 1,719,430 
			 (1) Domicile refers to the country of a student's permanent or home address prior to entry to their course. (2) The figures in the answer do not include enrolments where the constituency of the student cannot be established due to missing or invalid postcode information. Notes: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record.

Land: Registration

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2012, Official Report, columns 791-2W, on Land Registry, what steps he is taking to register land that is unregistered; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: Nearly 80% of land in England and Wales, including most urban land, is now registered with Land Registry with over 23 million registered titles. The registered area has increased from 45% in 2004, when data on geographic coverage first became available. This growth is principally attributable to Land Registry persuading landowners of the benefits of voluntary first registration. A large percentage of the land that remains unregistered is in rural areas or includes large estates or public landholdings.
	Work on achieving a comprehensive land register continues. Every first registration will result in greater coverage. Land Registry currently offer up to 25% discount on the fee on registration of voluntary registrations. In addition, new legislation has been introduced, under the Land Registration Act 2002 (Amendment) Order 2008, which ensures that when certain land transactions are undertaken, land that previously did not need to be registered, now must be included on the register.

Public Houses

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to change the relationship between large pub companies and their licensees; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Government's plans for a new, self-regulatory regime that will change the relationship between large pub companies and their licensees are set out in our response to the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee's report on Pub Companies:
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm82/8222/8222.pdf

Public Houses

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the self-regulatory regime for small community pubs; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Government consider that the previous system of self-regulation in the pub industry was inadequate. That is why, in November 2011, it secured an industry commitment to implement a tough new self-regulatory system, including strengthening the Industry Framework Code, making it legally binding and establishing an independent conciliation and arbitration service to resolve disputes between pubcos and licensees.

Public Houses: Rural Areas

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent meetings he has had with representatives of (a) the Campaign for Real Ale, (b) the British Beer and Pub Association, (c) the Federation for Small Businesses and (d) the Forum of Private Business to discuss ways of (i) lessening the regulatory burden on and (ii) improving economic conditions for rural pubs; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The meetings I have had with representatives of the pub industry and other stakeholders, at which I discussed matters relating to the Department's policy responsibility for competition, are given in the following table.
	Other policy matters relating to pubs are the responsibility of a range of Departments including the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Her Majesty's Treasury and the Home Office.
	
		
			  Attendees 
			 1 December 2010 Greg Mulholland MP; Emily Ryan and Jonathan Mail, (Campaign For Real Ale) 
			  CAMRA; Simon Clarke and Kate Nicholls, (Independent Pub Confederation) IPC 
			   
			 16 February 2011 Brigid Simmonds, Chief Executive British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) 
			   
			 7 March 2011 Martin Horwood MP 
			   
			 8 June 2011 Greg Mulholland MP; Mike Benner, CAMRA 
			   
			 18 July 2011 Martin Horwood MP; Mike Benner and Jonathan Mail, CAMRA 
			   
			 12 October 2011 Brigid Simmonds, British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA); Ralph Findlay (BBPA and Marston's); Simon Townsend (Enterprise Inns); Roger Whiteside (Punch Taverns) 
			   
			 1 November 2011 Martin Horwood MP 
			   
			 3 November 2011 Simon Longbottom (Greene King); Paul Wells (Independent Family Brewers of Britain and Charles Wells); Jonathan Neame (Shepherd Neame); Stuart Bateman (Bateman's); William Lees-Jones (JW Lees); David Turner (Young's) 
			   
			 9 November 2011 Greg Mulholland MP and Jo Swinson MP 
			   
			 21 November 2011 Tim Sykes, Kate Nicholls and Nick Bish, ALMR 
			   
			 23 November 2011 Greg Mulholland MP, Tim Farron MP, Don Foster MP, Martin Horwood MP, David Ward MP, Jo Swinson MP 
			   
			 1 December 2011 Brigid Simmonds, British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA); Ralph Findlay (BBPA and Marston's)

Regional Growth Fund

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of expenditure from the Regional Growth Fund in 2011-12; and what use he intends to make of any monies unspent at the end of that period.

Mark Prisk: Funding for the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) has been profiled for the spending review period. Officials are working to ensure that this year's RGF is fully disbursed.

Unfair Dismissal: Compensation

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons his plans to consult on compensated no-fault dismissals do not include firms with 10 or more employees.

Edward Davey: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), announced in November that the Government would seek evidence on the idea of introducing compensated no-fault dismissal for micro firms because we believe that the smallest businesses are less likely to have access to human resources (HR), and legal advice, and may be less confident in applying detailed procedures. This announcement was alongside a range of radical proposals aimed at cutting unnecessary demands on businesses of all sizes while safeguarding workers' rights.